


Questionable

by Amethystfairy1



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkwardness, Cat Ears, Dark Magic, Demons, Denial of Feelings, Double Life, F/F, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Fear of Rejection, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Ghosts, He tries so hard, I mean 90 percent are ghosts so, Insecurity, Lev is a sweet child, Look out folks here comes the bad stuff, M/M, Magic-Users, Major Character Undeath, Monsters, Mori is low-key a badass, Murder, Necromancer AU, Necromancers for hire, Phobias, Possession, Secret Societies, Secrets, Shape Shifters, Thunderstorms, Yakuza, i guess?, pretty much, stage fright
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-01-01 04:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 52
Words: 104,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12148728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amethystfairy1/pseuds/Amethystfairy1
Summary: “So...you can see dead people, evil spirits, mischievous creatures, and demons?”“...yeah.”“Are you sure you’re not crazy?”“More or less? It’s questionable.”***Morisuke’s the youngest in a family of necromancers. He spends his weekends going to the movies with his friend group five strong, and he doesn’t have to pay for tickets for the four dead ones. He has tea with the demons in his basement. He practices volleyball in the front yard while trying not to piss off the touchy garden sprites. No one’s ever had much interest in him, and the only breathing friend he has is a fellow necromancer born into a family of non-seer’s.Well, there’s him, and there’s this tall half Russian kid who isn’t too hard on the eyes that’s been trying to get closer to him, but, Mori’s not exactly sure he’s ready to have another person in his already closed off, otherworldly life. Isn't the ghost posse and the exiled servants of satan enough?But with the help of some matchmaking ghosts, a demon duo in the basement, a ring from the other side, and a conveniently timed thunderstorm, things just might work out for the best.Maybe.Morisuke isn’t exactly an optimist.





	1. Average Everyday Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! This is going to be my new piece of work now that One Pack is done! One Pack, that was a doozy, it was my last ongoing work, and it was LONG. I'm so excited for this work, I have so many plans for this and all the same I'd love to hear some suggestions from any readers I get! Without further ado, please enjoy!

No.

No Morisuke has no issues.

No, his home life is perfectly fine. He has a loving mother, and two older siblings who treat him as well as older siblings could ever treat a little brother. 

No, for the last time, Morisuke is _not_ crazy. 

He’s in his third year of high school, and people still don’t believe him. 

Yaku heaved a sigh as he slammed the door to his ordinary looking house, on a nice patch of land just far enough from neighbors that they can’t hear anything strange. With just high enough of a fence to conceal, but not high enough to be suspicious.

Not to mention the warm yet introverted family of four who lived inside, just kind and friendly enough to be on good terms with the neighbors, but never quite good enough to show for a dinner party, or host one themselves. 

“I’m back!” He called.

The house was dark, but that wasn’t weird. The shades were rarely ever opened. He walked into the living room, carefully hopping over the pentagram his brother and sister were drawing on the floor with chalk. 

“What are you guys trying to do this time?” He asked, settling cross legged on the ground. 

“Trying to make an alarm circle.” Was Mei’s clipped reply as she bit her tongue while working the chalk through a particularly rough section of the circle. She sat with her legs to the side, a knee length black skirt falling over her thighs. She was wearing a tee shirt with a cat style skull and cross bones on it, across the back it read...

_‘I LOST MY NINE LIVES’_

She had high white socks on, and her massive amount of auburn hair was spilling from a messy bun she’d hastily tied atop her head with a black ribbon when her brother had worried over the strands messing with the chalk. 

The brother in question, Shinnosuke, was working across from her. He had long silky spike shaped hair of the same color auburn as both of his siblings. It hung low over his face and cast his eyes into a near permanent shadow. He was wearing a baggy black hoodie and black cargo pants with a multitude of pockets. The belt was worn in a particular spot from all the times he’d clipped his homemade quiver to it. A sort of tube with magnets at the bottom that secured the silver tipped arrowheads down. The majority of the arrowheads were made of iron, a much less expensive material since they couldn’t afford to be crafting pure silver arrowheads just for Shin to shoot them into demons, often times never being able to recover them. While Mei was loud, happy go lucky, and bombastic. Not to mention fiercely protective of her two little brothers, Shin tended towards the silent calculating side of things. When twenty two year old Mei would rush in shouting spells and swinging her close range staff, nineteen year old Shinnosuke liked to hang back, observe the terrain, and conserve the arrows his family worked hard to make for him. 

Well, Morisuke actually funded a lot of the arrow making, since often times ghosts left behind silver in their rewards. Morisuke enjoyed the cursed trinkets more than the money, so he often gave his brother whatever silver he could spare. 

Morisuke yawned.

Mei looked up to him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“So, how was school, Mori?” 

Yaku gave an apathetic shrug.

“I can’t wait until I get to sleep till noon and chase ghosts and demons all night like you guys.” He replied.

He saw the smallest ghost of a smile on Shin’s face.  
“So, not good, huh?” 

Morisuke rolled his eyes.  
“It’s just...did everyone think you were crazy when you went to Nekoma?”

“I didn’t have an army of ghosts following me around.” He replied.

Mei laughed. “Everyone loved me, but then there was this one time I saw a goblin under the science teachers desk and threw a knife at it. Mom had to come pick me up, and then lie about taking me to corrective sessions with a psychiatrist for the rest of the year. After that, no one would talk to me! It seriously sucked!”  
Mori raised an eyebrow at her.  
“A goblin isn’t even worth the throw, they never drop anything good.” He pointed out.

“It was a knee jerk reaction, ok!” Mei snapped irritably.  

“Why did you even have a knife at the ready like that?” Mori demanded, looking suspicious.

“KNEE JERK I TELL YOU!” Mei screeched. 

Shin hummed. 

Morisuke turned to look at him.  
“No story from you, I’m assuming?” 

Shin shrugged.  
“To be expected.” Mei and Mori said this at the same time. 

Even though he couldn’t see them, Mori could tell that his older brother had rolled his eyes before hunching back over to his work on their living room floor.

Their living room wasn’t actually a living room, by the way. Sure, it had couches, and when necessary more furniture was brought up from the basement along with a rug to make the place look more like a home. Along the wall hung framed photos, proud pictures any parent would have, like the three kids on the front steps when they were small, or the first time Morisuke’s older brother, Shinnosuke, had managed to ride a bike. His eldest sibling, Mei’s first day at school. Of course, Morisuke wasn’t left out. There was a photo of his first time on the first string volleyball team as a freshmen, as well as a picture of him playing in the front yard with Kenma, tossing a volleyball back and forth.

Then, there were also photos hung up of Shin standing next to his first bullseye, oversized bow in hand. Their mother glowing with pride, with an arm over Mei’s shoulder as her daughter held up a drawing of the first functioning spell circle she’d ever drawn on a sheet of construction paper with a pink marker. There was also a picture of Mori standing with mouth agape, staring at the pile of riches that had appeared after the very first time he’d assisted a ghost in passing on, back when he was only eleven years old. Of course, then he’d had to have to assistance of his mother to make it through the possession process. Now he could it all on his own, and even do it back to back if necessary. Once in a while, Kenma had helped him out, but Kenma, while skilled enough to help in a fight thanks to the lessons imparted upon him by Morisuke’s mother, wasn’t exactly the best with a business that required conversing with someone, even if they were a dead person.

Speaking of Kenma.

“Hey, Kenma’s probably coming over for dinner, do you know where Mom is?”

“In the basement.” Shinnosuke replied shortly.

Mei giggled. “Yeah, she said something about their being an infestation?”

Yaku stood up and stretched.

“Ok.” He walked around through the kitchen, which was relatively normal.

I mean, the vats and jars of frogs legs and crow eyeballs set side by side with everyday things such as salt and pepper shakers was a little off putting, but Morisuke didn’t mind. He’d been around stuff like this as long as he could remember.

Grabbing a can of soda from the fridge, he headed to the basement.

He walked in right in time to see his Mother bring her axe, decorated with carvings of shield spells and rings that offered different abilities to be summoned, down on the head of a gremlin that had snuck in, likely sensing the presence of otherworldly activities in their household.

Yaku didn’t even flinch as disgusting yellow blood splattered onto the front of Ikumi Yaku’s worn out jeans and red spaghetti strap tank top.  

Instead, he groaned. 

“Mom, you should have put an old tee shirt or something on before you came down here!” He complained, as if he’d caught his mother wearing a nice shirt while painting.

The woman with a short bob of auburn hair identical to Morisuke’s picked at her now bloodied tank top before waving her hand.  
“Oh well, not like it’s a fancy dress or anything! No big deal.”

Morisuke rolled his eyes, looking up to the woman.

Annoyingly enough, he was shortest in his family by easily half a head. Not fair, considering that, while he never knew his father, his mother was easily five foot ten.

“Ok, whatever. Kenma’s coming over for dinner tonight, that’s ok, right?”

“Sure, sure, you know he’s welcome here anytime! Lord knows the boy needs some time around people like himself. Can’t believe you actually ran into a seer who wasn’t born to seeing parents! Must be fate.” She mused.

Morisuke shook his head softly. “Ok, well, I’m going to go finish up homework, then I’ll come help Mei and Shin with...whatever it is they’re doing in the living room. They said something about an alarm circle?”

His mother hummed. “Oh, yeah, I just figured they should be put to good use if they intend to live at home instead of go to college, the deadweights.” 

She blew at a strand of her orangey brown hair in irritation.

Yaku wilted. “Pretty sure they’d go insane if they went to college.”

Ikumi simply walked over and bobbed her youngest son on the nose with her pointer finger, axe still over one shoulder.

“You’re such a worrier, Mori. You need to relax, dear, you’re not even eighteen! Be young and live life in high school! It’s the best years of your life, you know?”

Morisuke crossed his arms.

“Yeah, live life at a school where everyone but the introverted gamer with the golden eyes thinks I’m a closet psychopath, great idea.”

The woman smiled at him pointedly.

“You should at least _try_ to make more friends.”

“With this sort of posse!?” He demanded, gesturing behind him. 

Perhaps this should have been mentioned earlier, but at nearly all times, Morisuke was followed around by a group of ghosts who had taken quite the liking to him. Now, they aren’t the white sheet style ghosts from the cartoons, oh no, they’re a bit more _realistic._

Kuroo snickered. “Aw, come on, Morisuke, we’re all the friends you need! And we literally are forever, remember?” 

The bed headed samurai gave a bow. He was wearing a simple red robe with a thick black tie at the midsection, it was also billowing around him, as if he were caught in a permanent light breeze. 

_He was killed during the feudal era in a, as he put it, ‘dishonorable’ attack against his master, when he was twenty one._

Akaashi gave a bow from where he was floating about two feet off the ground. If he were material, his hair would be brushing the ceiling. He had a pair of plain looking white slacks that were pristinely clean, with a dark blue dress shirt and a white tie.

“I apologize if I am causing you any trouble, Yaku-san. If you wish for me to leave, I understand.”  
Yaku put his hand up and shook his head.

“No, no, I want you to stay with us, Keiji! Just maybe not this one.”  
He jerked a thumb over at Kuroo.

“Oy!” The samurai snapped.

_Keiji died in the 1950’s of brain disease when he was sixteen...no one could save him back then, the medicine just wasn’t there..._

Suga waved his hands, trying to placate everyone.

“Now, now, stop with all this. Morisuke is irritated right now, and while it isn’t directly our fault, it is because of us.”

Tetsurou took a breath to argue, but Koushi jabbed a finger at his face.

“Pipe down, Tetsu.”

Koushi then looked down to Yaku.

“Ignore him, and Keiji is right. We’re the weird ones, the ones who can’t be helped, like the others you’ve helped. You shouldn’t be responsible for that. It’s not like we’ll get hurt if we go.” 

Morisuke shook his head harder.  
“No. I don’t _want_ you to go.” He insisted firmly.

_Suga died only twenty years ago, in the nineties, he was in a horrible car accident when he was seventeen, apparently no one survived...he played volleyball, which is cool at least. He was a setter for some school in Miyagi, apparently._

“But we...” Koushi tried to push, putting a hand to his plain white tee shirt. Of all the things to die in and be stuck wearing in the afterlife, a plain white tee shirt and white washed jeans with worn out sneakers probably isn’t the most glamorous, but it wasn’t like Koushi really minded.

“Now, now, Suga-chan, don’t insist on use leaving! I like it here! It’s cozy.”

Now speaking was Tooru, who was currently lounging in the air above them like a contented cat who was resting on an invisible bed.

Morisuke rolled his eyes again.

“You’re intolerable, Tooru.”

“Thanks! I try.” Oikawa fake gushed. 

_Oikawa Tooru...a yakuza member from the seventies...he probably would have been scary to me if he showed up today, but he’d actually been with my family the longest out of all of them. Well, other than Tetsu. He showed up only just after my father left, so I’ve always known him. He died when he was nineteen, beat to death in a gang war...to think he got involved in stuff like that so young..._

Tooru was wearing a snappy looking black leather jacket with squared tails, he had a golden yakuza pin on the lapel of his teal turtleneck, and had a pair of black expensive looking slacks with a chain loop hanging from the belt loops tucked into a pair of knee high black lace up combat boots. 

He looked intimidating, but classy, almost pretty in a way. 

Not to mention he was apparently into the eyeliner back then, but Morisuke didn’t feel like calling that to attention right now.

With this, Yaku bid his mother happy gremlin exterminating, and fled to his room. His room was a weird mixture of your average volleyball playing seventeen year old, and a necromancers lair. 

Well, because it was both. 

Morisuke tossed his backpack onto the black bedspread covered with crescent moons and picked up the worn leather bound journal, paging through it for a few moments before sitting down. 

He opened it up and took up a pen.

~~~

_So Kenma’s coming over...and anyway, this is, what, like two weeks after school started? I’m already so ready to be done...I don’t want to deal with the assholes that are all convinced I’m out of my mind. Am I out of my mind? Well, it’s questionable, but I’m definitely not certified bonkers, that for sure. At least I’ve got Kenma, I guess. I mean, he’s great and all but...what I wouldn’t give for someone who’s a bit more, what’s the word? Forward? Not like Tooru. Or Tetsu. Keiji and Suga are both great, though. Why am I even still doing this? What seventeen year old guys keep a daily, sometimes more than once daily...journal? Well, at any rate, at least it helps me keep track of the my ghost duties. We’ve got around thirty in and out of the house right now, and the four who are always with me, are, well, always with me. Keiji is really polite, at least. Almost too polite. He won’t stop calling me ‘-san’ and it’s really annoying. Tetsu, on the other hand, always tries to call me Mori. Now, you might think I’m a hypocrite since I call him Tetsu and not Tetsurou, but he asked everyone to do that. Said it made him feel closer to his home from like a thousand years ago. Whatever he wants, I guess. Anyway, the try outs for the volleyball team are tomorrow, we might get some interesting players. No matter what I’ll always be the weird one, I just wish Tooru could stop making the net shake whenever I walk near it. So annoying! Well, I’ll write again tomorrow. See you then._

~~~

Yaku exhaled slowly as he closed the book again. 

These four were a handful, but they were the only friends he really had. Well, them and the countless other ghosts who also ‘lived’ in his house. Other than Kenma of course. 

_Kenma, he should be getting here soon..._

With this thought, Morisuke stood back up and made to change.

He pulled a comfy tee shirt over his head and went to pick up his journal. 

Morisuke let the cover fall shut on the journal, allowing the flicker of pages through the words he’d scribbled for years in this journal. Paragraph after paragraph of all the souls he’d saved from an eternity of wandering, mixed in with his own personal musings and thoughts.

This journal was less then a year going, and he had a collection of them all in a trunk underneath his bed. He’d started keeping them once he got hard to remember all the different names and faces and causes of the ghosts who were coming to him for help. It had sort of turned into a personal diary as well as a business tracker. That is, if you could call helping lost souls to the other side a business. He snatched his hoodie from the chair and slid it on as hopped up on the banister of the spiral staircase. The bottoms of his socks slid on the smooth black wood.

 

_It’s not hard if you know what you’re doing..._

 

He jumped over the decorative head of the post on the second floor. 

 

_...allow the ghost to possess your material body and relive their last moments. Could be a few seconds, could be a day, a week, a month._

_Become them, and search for the things only you can see._

 

“Mori, get down! You’ll break your neck!” He heard his sister shout as when she saw him go flying past her.

“As if!” Mori replied as he jumped off the bottom of the banister and did an almost lazy flip.

 

_Then you help them find that thing, or that person, or that place, in the present day. And they are free, and when they go, they leave behind a reward from the other side. Pendants and rings with special abilities for combative necromancers, glasses and journals that can help seer’s who don’t like to fight, and, most often, gold, jewels, and other monetarily valuable things._

 

He landed easily right in front of a complete unsurprised Kozume Kenma.

“Hey.” Yaku greeted, because it wasn’t anything new for him to surf the banister.

“Hey.” Kenma replied softly, giving a small wave to Mei who had just come running down the steps.

“Mori!” She snagged him by the back of the jacket and started shaking her shorter brother.

“Stop! Surfing! On! The! Stairs! It’s dangerous! You’ll crack your skull!”

“Says the member of the family who chases around undead monsters for a living.” He said flatly.

She scowled. “That’s different and you know it!” She exclaimed.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever Mei Mei!” He freed himself from her grip and gestured to Kenma.

“Come on. Watch the circle they’re working on.”

Kenma shuffled into the room and Shinnosuke gave a grunt of greeting, not looking up from the circle.

The bottle blonde skirted around the chalk circle on the ground and sat down at the counter.

“Hi Ikumi-san.” He said to Yaku’s mother, who had apparently finished with the gremlin massacre for the day. 

“Hello sweetheart, just settle down, dinner will be done any minute.” She said with a smile, checking the oven to see if the food was ready yet, then fiddling with the dials.

Kuroo swept over to Kenma with a cheesier cat grin on his face.

“So, Kitten, did you skip practice again today?”

“Yup.”

“Kenma! You’ll get kicked off the team at this rate, can you just hold out for one more year? Not even! Don’t leave me, all the guys think I’m crazy except you!” Morisuke complained.

Kenma shrugged. “They all think I’m crazy for hanging out the crazy guy.”

“Can someone please enlighten me as to why everyone thinks you’re so crazy?” Suga came sweeping into the room, looking less than ghostly with his jeans and tee shirt. Tooru wasn’t far behind him, chattering poor Keiji’s ear off.

Yaku groaned. “Because I didn’t realize that not everyone could see spirits at first, so when I told my primary school teacher I could see dead people, she was little concerned.”

“Parenting fail on your part, Ikumi-san.” Kuroo called.

The woman casually waved a spatula at the ghostly boy.

“Well, I didn’t think anyone would notice, plenty of kids have imaginary friends when they’re little! I figured Mori having a few different ones wouldn’t be that strange! It worked with Mei and Shin!” 

“No it didn’t!” Both of them shouted from the living room.

“Yeah, actually, it doesn’t help that I’m the youngest of the three siblings who are the so called ‘creepiest’ in all of Nekoma history. The Yaku family name isn’t exactly upheld to the highest standard over there.”

He shot Kuroo and glare.

The former warrior threw his arms up. “I slammed the classroom door on accident one time after we came in! One time!”

Yaku shook his head. “Yeah, issue is I wasn’t touching the door, I was like five feet away, so it looked like some sort of ghost slammed it! Which is _true_ , but I didn’t need my entire class knowing that!”  

Ikumi came to the rescue, setting plates out across the nook. Since their dining room was a bit preoccupied as a library/research/armory area, it was impossible to eat there. In fact, other than their respective bedrooms, the kitchen was the most normal room in the house. 

Giving Kuroo one last look, Morisuke scooted his chair out and went to get drinks.

 

**_The night._ **

 

“Remind me why you can’t walk home?” Morisuke asked to the second year currently lying on a pallet on his bedroom floor.

“It’s dark.”

“You can see ghosts and evil spirits.”

“It’s still dark.”

Grumbling, Morisuke pulled his blanket up to his chin and stared up at the ceiling.

“Geez, it feels like school has already been going on for months, but it’s only been two weeks...”

Kenma hummed.

“Don’t get to eager, before you know it it’ll be a week before graduation and you’ll be wishing you had a little more time.” 

Yaku scoffed. “To do what? You’re a seer, just like me, and your parents aren’t. With any luck you’ll just wind up moving in with us and helping me with the lost souls like Tetsu and Shouyou and such, or taking up hunting with Mom, Mei and Shin. Or maybe you'll get a stall at the underground.”

Kenma hummed again, but this time he didn’t elaborate.

“What else would I be wanting to hang around for anyway?”

No reply.

Sighing, Morisuke rolled onto his side and clicked out the light. 

“Good night, Kenma.” 

He said as he rolled onto his other side.

“Hey.” 

Morisuke turned back over to see the bottle blondes lantern like eyes illuminated in the dark by the screen of his PSP.

“Are you ever going to do anything but slink around the background at school?”

Morisuke hesitated. “What should I do?” 

Kenma shrugged. “Make friends. Play video games. Go to the school dance. Play video games. Pull a senior prank. Play video games. Get a boyfriend. Play video games.” 

Yaku smiled fondly up until the last one.

“Wait, whoa, slow down, all of those sound great but the last one, _boyfriend_?” He demanded, propping himself up on one elbow.

Kenma looked up to him. “It’s pretty obvious.” 

Yaku felt his eye twitch.

“How!?” 

Kenma shrugged again. 

“Just is. You aren’t even denying it.” Morisuke flopped back onto his back.

“You’re such a con artist, you always act like you can’t hear anything through your earbuds, but that one time I mentioned how good the captains ass looked, you had your music turned down.”

Kenma frowned softly. “Well, it _does_ look good.” 

Yaku sighed. “Yeah, but he’s an asshole.”

“I know, we just established he has a fine ass.” 

“Kenma!” Morisuke laughed through the name.

He heard Kenma give a barely there breath of a giggle.

A moments silence.

“Well, if I ever do wind up liking someone, I doubt they’ll be able to find any good in me.” 

Kenma looked up to him from his PSP, which he’d refocused on, again.

“You banish evil spirits, fight undead creatures, summon demons, and help lost souls pass to the other side. You spend your weekends getting possessed by ghosts and drawing pentagrams on your living room floor. Your mom kills stuff that’s already dead with an axe, your sister plays with knives all the time and beats stuff with a big stick, and your brother can shoot something with a bow faster than most soldiers can shoot it a gun. What’s not to like?”

“Thanks, Kenma, I should let you write my dating profile.”

“Already on it.”

“Don’t you dare.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! Thanks so much for taking the time to stop in, please drop a suggestion in your comment, they help Mama Yaku kill all the gremlins, thanks so much for reading! :D


	2. Practice, take one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little short but I liked the way it come off so I went with it! I hope you enjoy!

**_The next day, volleyball practice._ **

 

“Kenma, thank god, you’re on time for once!” Morisuke exclaimed as the bottle blonde came wandering in, changed already for practice with his black tee shirt and red shorts. 

“Just because you had a breakthrough last night. Also spending the night at your house and then not showing up would have been rude. I'm not Tooru.” Kenma mumbled.

"RUDE KEN-CHAN!" Tooru roared from a few feet away, where he floated.

Kenma shrugged, still looking disinterested. Pretty much the only reason he kept up playing volleyball, as the setter for the team might I add, was because Morisuke loved playing the sport, but wouldn’t be able to deal with being on the team without at least one friendly face. A few of the other guys on the team were alright but for the most part, they only treated him with general respect as a skilled libero and an upperclassman.

_Speaking of being an upperclassman..._

Morisuke looked up to see a few more first years come running into the gym, excited to try out for the team.

_...the new first years are going to be trying out today. I’ll just be observing with Kenma since we aren’t exactly great at first impressions, but it should still be interesting. I want to be here to at least see what I’ll have to deal with._

“Hey, Morisuke, that one is kinda cute...oh look at that doll with the spiky brown hair!” Kuroo was all to happy to be sizing up the newcomers for his living friend.

“Shut up Kuroo.” Kenma hissed up at the ghost.

“Kitten, you wound me! We all know you’re up for the pretty boys too!” Tetsurou put a hand to his chest and let himself drop a few inches in the air as if feinting in slow motion.

Morisuke shook his head, Kenma and Kuroo had developed quite the relationship. Once or twice, Kuroo had even abandoned his usual vow of never leaving Morisuke in peace for more than five minutes to follow the gamer around, bugging him and complaining about how he never talked to him.  

“Let’s just sit and watch, alright? No doubt the captain is gonna start about how amazing he is any second now. And these kids will probably lap it up.” 

Morisuke muttered. To say he had a bad relationship with the captain of their team was an understatement, but really, that guy doesn’t even deserve the mention of his name.

Kenma and Mori sat on the side bench of the gym, with a good view of the courts so they could observe all of the first years lining up to get sorted to different courts.

“You think Kai can handle all this? The captain isn’t even here yet.” Morisuke whispered to Kenma. 

However, the shaved headed third year seemed pretty comfortable with this. He often found himself forced into the captains roll in absence of the actual captain, who was nearly tied with Kenma for how little he showed up to practice.

_But the bastards got good looks and even better talent, so no one is actually brave enough to go up and demand he show up for more practices._

Morisuke sighed. He’d do it, but he didn’t really have the reputation to back it up. Well, he showed for every single practice humanly possible unless he were sick or pretending to be sick because of a possession gone wrong, so there was something. 

“Hey, check out the Tokyo Tower over there.” Kenma pointed deftly, and Morisuke looked up.

Then he had to look up even more. 

He was at first put off by the fact that this kid was even actually in the fifteen to sixteen year old range, since he was easily over six foot, probably much more. Then, he caught sight of the fact that he had a neatly flattened head of silvery hair.

_Is that even...natural?_

Morisuke wondered. Then again, plenty of first years these days were getting onto the hair dye kick, so there could just be that.

_First years these days...I really am old..._

Yaku frowned at the thought, but he was shaken from any further musings on this towering first year when a certain translucent samurai popped his head up from behind the bench. 

“See something you like?” Kuroo snarked, a smirk on his face.

“I swear to god you are the reason people think I’m crazy, Suga, Tooru, and Keiji aren’t talking are they? Go bother them.” Yaku hissed under his breath. 

Sure enough, the other three were there, bobbing about near the court, studying the first years. While Tooru was making a racket, it wasn’t as though he could be heard by the non-seer’s. Morisuke had plenty of practice blocking out ghosts, and Kenma, well, he just blocked out everyone in general.

Kuroo pouted, crossing his arms.

“Fine.” He muttered before he headed towards them like a child that had been told to go to his room.

Morisuke exhaled in relief.

There, at least, was one less problem to deal with. 

He looked back at the tall first year, wondering if he’d been playing volleyball long. 

The answer? Not long at all. 

Morisuke lost interest in him almost immediately, because, while he could block pretty well, and there was room for improvement with his reflexes, and his spike was actually fairly impressive, his receiving skills and general court sense were absolutely awful. He got his the face three times by the end of the second hour. 

_No doubt I’ll get landed with trying to fix that._

Morisuke thought, already getting a headache at the prospect. One and one with him was something all the players on the team tried to avoid at all costs. The way the air around him changed temperatures so quickly, the way doors rattled, the nets swayed, and the benches shifted. He was so weird, and by now everyone knew it. Everyone but the new first years, which they would learn soon enough for certain. 

After all, Yaku Morisuke was crazy, remember? 

No one who valued their life or their social standing went _anywhere_ near him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to get Lev's intro into it's own special chapter, hopefully it turned out well! Please drop suggestions and other thoughts in the comments, they help Kenma get motivated to play volleyball! :D Please leave a kudos and thanks so much for reading!


	3. Practice, take two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad everyone is starting to get excited about this story, I'm super excited too! I have big plans! :D Alright, please enjoy!

**_The next week._ **

 

_I knew it._

Morisuke thought in irritation.

Sure enough, he’d been landed with trying to fix the Tokyo Tower’s receives.

So, ghost posse four strong, he trudged to the gym on what was supposed to be the teams day off.

_I guess it’s not that bad...I mean, I don’t have anything better to do and maybe he won’t be all that bad...but first..._

Once they reached the doors of the gym Morisuke turned around. “Ok, all of you, I’m trying to make a decent first impression here, so you can come in, but if you could just talk and float around at the other end of the gym, that would be great. Hell, even go haunt the school, I don’t care, just please don’t start making things shake and rattle, ok?” 

He sounded exasperated. These types of talks never worked, because, while they were careful, most of them they tripped up and ghostly happenings would, well, happen. 

_I asked for it, choosing to be a possession necromancer instead of just beating already dead things to death. Ghosts are attracted to me, and also wind up being protective of me...I guess it's not the worst thing in the world._

Sighing, Morisuke pulled open the gym doors. 

He blinked in confusion. The kid was supposed to be here already, and yet he was no where to be seen. 

_Must be running late._

Morisuke thought as he dropped his bag on the bench and started to change his shoes. 

“GOT YOU!” 

Yaku jumped at the shout from outside.

“Hey, Suga, what’s going on out there?” 

Koushi poked his head through the wall, and a moment later he pulled back in looking confused. “Um, that guy you’re supposed to be helping...I think he’s been chasing around a cat for awhile, looks like he just caught it.”

Sure enough, only a few seconds later, here came the silver haired behemoth through the door, proudly holding a skinny black cat as if said cat were the next lion king, the low glow of sunlight bathing the two through the still open door.

Morisuke stared up at him like he was a complete loon.

“Uh...hi?” He tried.

The kid jumped at the voice, and the black cat took his opportunity to make an escape, squirming free of the massive hands and long fingers and dropping to the ground, bolting out the door.

“Awww! No!” The kid looked after the cat, looking devastated. 

Morisuke stood up, not totally understanding why he looked ready to cry.

“Was that your cat?” He asked, looking out the door.

The silver haired boy hesitated. “Well, no, but I really _wanted_ him to be!” 

Yaku shook his head slowly. “Yeah...picking up random cats off the street probably isn’t the best idea.”

The younger student wilted.

“I guess you’re right.” He mumbled, before he stood up again with enthusiasm renewed.

“I’m Haiba Lev! Thank you so much for helping me get better!” He delivered a sharp bow.

Morisuke gave him a half smile. “Uh, yeah, sure. I’m Yaku Morisuke. We better get started. Coach Nekomata wants us out of the gym before it’s totally dark.”

Lev gave a quick nod. “Right!”

It took a good hour for Lev to actually start realizing something was off with his upperclassman. The first thing he noticed was the way his eyes were always looking off at things, being caught by movements that weren't there. Up towards the ceiling, at the far wall, by the bench, out the door, and so much else.

Another thing was that he seemed almost like he were listening in on another persons conversation _all the time_ , occasionally making the facial expressions one would make while eavesdropping. Biting his lip, rolling his eyes, breathing a sigh, and narrowing his gaze off at someone that wasn't there.

The thing that really tipped it off however, was when one of Lev’s receives went awry, spiraling up.

“That’s ok, it was the right idea, just a little off on the form.” Morisuke encouraged, jogging forward in order to catch the ball before it hit the ground.

However, before that could happen, the ball abruptly changed course and bent towards him, landing in his hands. The change of course hadn’t been that drastic, and the libero had played it off like it was nothing, but Lev had seen the moment when the ball had arced and gone straight toward the floor, only to suddenly start falling at an angle for no reason.

Morisuke, meanwhile, was going to yell himself horse at Kuroo later tonight for smacking the ball in his direction. The pressure of his ghostly hand going through the ball had changed it’s course enough that Morisuke hadn’t had to run to catch it, but that certainly wasn’t worth ruining how this first practice was actually going pretty well, compared to others.

After all, that time Tooru had turned on all the faucets in the bathroom and then been unable to turn them off again had been at lot worse.

Lev looked at the way Morisuke seemed to shoot a dirty look at the air where the ball had changed course, but it all happened in the fraction of a second. 

Just like every other thing that was off about the third year, it all happened so fast it made the younger boy question if it had even happened at all.

Shaking his head, the green eyed boy decided to just let it go, it must of just a trick of the light.

 

**_The school gates._ **

 

“Thanks so much, Yaku-san! I feel like I got better already!” Lev exclaimed, looking enthused.

Morisuke shrugged. “You’ve got good basics, for having barely ever played before. I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out.” 

“Yeah!” 

“Alright, well, I’ll see you on Monday, then.” Morisuke said as he turned left out of the gates to head home.

“You go this way too?” 

Sure enough, Lev was still walking next to him.

Yaku hummed. “Yeah, my house is up on the hilly area like ten minutes past the park.”

Lev nodded. “I live in the apartment complex just before there!” 

Morisuke nodded. “Alright, I guess we’ll walk together then. I go past the apartments anyway.”

The rest of the ten minute walk was filled with talks about volleyball, cats, school, more cats, and everything else in between. Lev was holding the conversation but Morisuke was throwing out jibes and comments often enough. 

“So you have a big sister?” Morisuke asked.

“Yeah! She’s in college right now, but she goes to a school in the city, so she lives at home with us. My Dad is in Russia right now for a really important business summit, but other than those trips he works here in Tokyo. My Mom works as a graphic designer, that’s what I really want to do! Alisa is going to school for the same, so maybe she and I can start our own company together.” 

Morisuke nodded. “Sounds fun.”

“What about you, Yaku-san? Do you have siblings?”

Morisuke put up two fingers. “An older brother and an older big sister. The sister is the eldest. I’m the youngest of the family.”

Lev looked surprised. "Really?"

Morisuke raised an eyebrow. "What does the mean?"

Lev shrugged. "You just act like you always take care of everything, so I'd figured you were the oldest kid."

Yaku snickered. "We all help, all three of us have the similar thing of always wanting to make sure everyones ok." 

“Oh! Cool! What about your mom and dad?”

Yaku smiled a the mention of his mother. “My Mom runs the family business, that’s what both my siblings do too. They didn’t want to go to college, so they’re staying home and helping our Mom out. She works really hard and sometimes she goes overboard, so I’m actually really glad they’re sticking around. Mei’s twenty two, and Shinnosuke is nineteen, so it’s not like they haven’t still got time to change their minds.”

Lev wasn’t dense enough not to notice the way that Morisuke avoided the mention of his father, and he wasn’t insensitive enough to press. 

 _Something must have happened with his Dad...m_ _aybe once we become better friends!_

He decided, so, although curious, he held back.

“What about you, then, Yaku-san? Are you going to go to college?”

Morisuke shrugged. “I dunno yet. Probably not right away, we all barely make ends meet with the one house and no school expenses. I don’t want to push that on my Mom to send me off to school, y’know? She'd find a way to do it, for sure, but...losing what I bring in for the family, and then having to pay for me to be somewhere else? I’m pretty sure it’d be better for her if I stuck around too, anyway. I really like working with my siblings with what we do, so it’s not like I’d be miserable.”

Lev cocked his head to the side. “What do you guys do for a business?” 

Morisuke glanced up. “Looks like we’re here.”

Sure enough, they were outside the apartment complex.

Morisuke checked his watch. “Sorry, I gotta run, my Mom asked me to hit the store on my way back. I’ll see you next week, ok?” 

Lev frowned, here went his upperclassman again, dodging a question.

Still, it was only their first conversation, and what with them sharing a fifteen minute long route home, Lev was sure there would be plenty more where that came from. 

“Yeah, see you then, Yaku-san!” He waved as the auburn haired boy grasped the strap of his bag and took off up the street. 

The instant he turned the corner, Keiji swept up next to him, tie fluttering as if the wind were actually having affect, he reached up to pull down the brim of his white fedora.

“He was...interesting.” He said, sounding unsure.

“Yeah, he was. I liked him.” Yaku replied decisively. 

“Did you? Did you _liiiiike_ him?” Tooru teased, doing a barrel roll and flying along next to his breathing buddy.

“No, Tooru, I did not _liiiiike_ him. I just like him. He seems nice, and he didn’t freak out over all the weird breezes and creaking and annoying samurai ghosts smacking volleyballs around!” 

He glared up at Kuroo, who gave a nonchalant shrug. 

“Well, I think you should try to get to know him better, he seems like a very nice boy!” Koushi said with a mothering tone of voice. 

"I have to agree with Suga-san, he seems worth getting to know." Akaashi contributed.

Sighing as the four of them all started bickering over their first impressions of the half Russian boy, Morisuke slowed down outside the store he’d been told to stop by for milk on the way home. 

_He seemed nice...more than that, he seemed different. He seemed like he wanted to actually be nice to me...that’s a new one. I wonder how long it’ll take before he decides I’m out of my mind too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't want Yaku to be revealed as a being 'insane' right off the bat, I'm saving that for a different time. As usual, please drop a comment, they help Lev get his own cat! Thanks so much for reading and I hope to see you again next time!!!


	4. Shopping Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to get into the siblings and their dynamics with Mori and each other a bit more since Shin and Mei, I just love them and I am gonna be doing more with Ikumi too! So just accept a little self indulgence while I write about Lev getting roped into some sibling shenanigans.  
> Please enjoy~

**_The next month._ **

 

 

Lev scanned over the shopping list he’d been given by his mother as he walked down the aisles of the grocery store. 

_All that’s left is eggs and shallots...so produce and then dairy? Which is closer?_

He looked up at the hanging signs, blowing at his bangs, and finally decided to head for produce first. 

As he was walking, his thoughts went back to the previous day, a Friday, when he’d wished Yaku a good weekend before unlocking the gate and going into the apartment complex where he lived.

_Yaku-san is really nice! I like him...I wonder what his house is like? What about his siblings? His parents? I really wanna know more about him!_

Lev couldn’t explain the attraction he felt towards the older student, but he knew it wasn’t something he was going to act on straight away.

_If ever._

Lev thought, shaking his head.

His thoughts wandered back to what Morisuke’s family would look like. 

The first thing that popped into his head was his own sister, Alisa, with Morisuke’s face.

_Definitely not._

Lev thought, snickering softly at the image.

“WHEEEEE!”

The silver haired boy jumped backwards just in time to avoid getting hit by a girl with extremely long auburn locks fluttering everywhere out behind her, who was riding on the back of a shopping cart. A fully grown guy with a gray beanie and orangey brown bangs covering his eyes was in said shopping cart, for _some_ reason, and he was clutching to the sides for dear life.

The girls knee length gray overcoat had a multitude of patches and buttons all over it, and underneath it she was wearing a tee shirt with a...cat skull and cross bones on it? 

The poor guy in the cart was wearing a plain black tee shirt and a green cargo vest overtop with baggy black jeans. 

_“MEI!”_

Just like that, here came Yaku around the corner, chasing after the wild girl with the shopping cart.

Lev instantly locked onto what his upperclassman, who had run right past without noticing him, was wearing. This was the first time he’d seen Morisuke outside of school or volleyball, and he was interested in what the third years style was.

He found it to be fairly plain, just a red hoodie rolled up to his elbows and a black tee shirt that had some sort of red circle with stars and moons on the lapel, with jeans and sneakers. 

Now that he’d properly taken in the auburn haired boy’s attire, Lev heard a far off crash and some maniacal laughter. 

He ran after Yaku, and arrived in produce where the girl with the runaway shopping cart had crashed into the fresh fruit section. 

“Thank god you didn’t knock anything over! Shin, are you ok?” 

Shin, apparently the name of the guy who’d been kidnapped in the shopping cart, was lying flat on his back on the floor next to the cart, which had fallen onto it’s side, wheels still spinning. It reminded Lev of the collapse of a wounded beast.

Mei was lying next to on top of Shin giggling like a crazy person.

“That was so much fun! Let’s do it again, your turn Mori!”

Shin let out a barely audible groan, shoving the girl off of his chest.

“You couldn’t pay me enough to get me into a shopping cart, at this rate we’ll get kicked out! Why does it take all three of us to buy milk and some veggies?” Yaku roared, looking beside himself.

Shin sat up and snatched his beanie up off the ground, where it had flown off his head. 

He pulled it firmly back on before speaking.  
“Mom wants me and Mei out of the house more, says we need more sunshine, since we only ever go out at night.” 

Mei scoffed, pointing at him. “Since _you_ only ever go out at night! I go for walks in the forest and the park all the time!”

Morisuke, meanwhile, was struggling to pull the cart back up onto it’s own four wheels.  
“Need some help?” Lev asked, stepping up and grasping the cart by the handle.

Morisuke jumped, having not even realized the silver haired boy was standing nearby this entire time.

“Lev! You’re here? Oh, so you saw that whole fiasco?”  
Lev laughed. “I didn’t think the first time I met your siblings they’d almost run me over with a shopping cart.”

Yaku’s eye twitched.

“Yeah, my Mom decided we needed ‘bonding time’, so she made us all come to the store together.”

Mei jumped up, eyes sparkling.  
“Mori made a friend that isn’t the creepy gamer kid? Wow, I’m so proud!”

She ruffled Yaku’s hair and the poor libero ducked away, looking furious.

“I’m not ten, Mei! Besides, we walk the same way home, and he’s on the volleyball team so it wasn’t like I was trying.”

Lev looked saddened.  

“The way you say it makes it sound like I just bother you.”  
Morisuke threw his arms up.  
“I am not! See what you did? You made him sad!” He shouted at Mei.

A few moments later the shopping cart had been properly righted, Morisuke had taken over driving the thing since clearly the twenty two year old wasn’t qualified, and then pointed lazily to the two of them.

“The guys Shinnosuke, the girls Mei, pretty sure you could have figured that out, but yeah.”

Lev smiled cheerily.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Haiba Lev!”

“Hello.” Shin said shortly.

Morisuke and Mei both stared at him in absolute amazement, mouths open slightly.

Lev blinked. “What? Did I do something wrong?”

Mei threw her arms around Shin’s shoulders, nearly crushing the poor shorter boy against her, ahem, very well endowed chest.

“You actually greeted a stranger! I can’t believe it! Aw, just look at my baby brother finally gaining social skills!”

“Mei, you’re gonna strangle him.” Yaku commented, leaning on the cart handle.

Lev watched in confusion. “He’s...he’s really _that_ quiet?”

Morisuke hummed. “Yup. Takes him a good few months before he’ll open his mouth in front of a stranger normally, something about you must have gotten him to loosen up.” 

Lev beamed. “I always knew I was a people person!”

After finishing their shopping and saying their goodbyes, the walk home was filled with Mei firing off questions. 

Morisuke ignored all of them and just looked to his brother instead.  
“What made you say hello to him?” He asked.

Shin shrugged. “I can tell you like him. Didn’t want to come off as rude.”

Mei gushed. “That’s sweet, Shin!”

Morisuke somehow got the feeling Shin was picking up on the way he was feeling, which was that strange, not just friends emotion that plenty of people had surely gone through before. 

Not Morisuke though, but even though he didn’t have a clue, his big brother was rather the perceptive one. 

However, Shinnosuke didn’t intend on making any predictions just yet, at least, not out loud. 

Lucky for him, in his family, he wasn’t so much as expected too.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it!  
> I was actually wondering, is there anyone out there who would be willing to draw a few of the characters in this story? I have such a hard time seeing the characters I dress in my head, and I'd love to see how a reader took the descriptions I give to the character on paper. I can't really...PAY anyone, and I honestly feel kind of stupid asking this since it sounds a little pretentious ;-; So if it is, just no one pay it any mind. I'm curious to see if my descriptions are doing good. I description most of the ghosts in the first chapter, the demons will be arriving in a few chapters, and the siblings and mom are who I'm really curious about. If this is dumb, then just ignore me, sorry! In other news, please drop a comment down below, they help Shin escape his crazy sister, and thanks so much for reading!!!


	5. Caught Out in the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliche? Maybe.  
> Absolutely wonderful to write? Definitely!  
> Yup, we're getting stuck in the rain with LevYaku, so please enjoy! :D

**_Three months later._ **

 

As it turned out, they _had_ gotten to know each other.

This was something Morisuke couldn't decide if or not he were happy about. 

Then again, the fluttery feeling in his chest probably spoke for itself every time he rounded the wall of the school gates and saw Lev leaning on the post waiting for him.

Yes, they’d gotten to know each other quite well. To Morisuke, the days no longer dragged by, and even worse, he found himself looking forward a little too much to his walk home. 

He suddenly looked forward to every off day, because it meant an extra hour or two with the towering first year in the gym. After the first few times Lev would start trying to get away, but this newly found closeness also meant that Yaku knew just how to drag him right back onto the court again.

Today, a Sunday with a crystal clear sky, however, found Morisuke wandering about the park, the one he and Lev walked by after school. He was digging through the sandbox and picking his way through bushes, searching for a stuffed toy for a little girl who’d come to him with wishes to move on.

During the possession he’d discovered that the beloved teddy had been left behind in the park when her parents had rushed her to the hospital during a coughing fit. She’d fallen ill and passed away less than a month later, but the loss of the bear had always eaten at her. It was her first and only friend, the only one she’d had the chance to make in her four years of life, and she wasn’t going to the other side without it.

He’d found it not long ago, a worn out old teddy bear that had lain abandon in a thicket for almost ten years now. It was torn up and slightly damp, and it had a revolting smell to it, but when he’d given it to the ghostly little girl, it had changed back to how she remembered it, bright pink bow tie and shiny button eyes with fluffy white fur and a soft pink nose. She had given a happy squeal, and given him a cold hug, the only one she was capable of, before vanishing into a growing glow of golden light with grateful cries left behind.

Morisuke was now kneeling by the loot she’d left, sorting it into his bag quickly as possible. 

At the bottom of the small pile of gold and trinkets, he found a worn out ring, no gem, but it did have a small carving on the inside of it that Morisuke couldn’t make out. It was a strange item indeed, it looked like two strands of metal woven together, one was a brilliant polished gold that sparkled in the light, the other was a dark, inky black smoothed over that felt in a creepy way like snakeskin. There was a silver inset on the spiral between them, and it had been flattened out on the inside. 

_I’ve never seen anything like this before...what does that say?_

Morisuke thought, instantly curious, feeling excited at the new discovery. This was what made his job the most thrilling, other than the possessions themselves. It was finding new and unusual artifacts that the other side had sent to him as a way of thanks for helping yet another arrive safely to their gates. He took out a magnifying glass from his backpack, settled down in a nearby swing set, and began turning the ring this way and that, trying to find a way he could read the small words.

As he was working on this, his phone started buzzing in his pocket.

He took it out and swiped to answer.

“Hey Mom.” He said said casually, tucking the phone onto his shoulder as he continued fiddling with the ring and glass.

“Hey, sweetie, just checking on you. How are things over there?”

“I found the girls teddy bear in a thicket. She’s gone, and I’m sorting through what she left for me.”

“Oh, that’s lovely! I’m so proud of you! You didn’t get hurt or anything did you?”

Morisuke rolled his eyes fondly.  
“No, Mom, I’m fine. My jeans are covered sand from digging around in the sandbox for a while trying to find the bear, but that’s all.”

“If that’s the worse thing you’ll ever do, you’re the best child I could ask for.”  
Morisuke snickered when he could hear his older sister shouting in protest, and even an irritated ‘hey’ from Shin, before his mother spoke again.  
“Oh, and I want you home soon, ok? The forecast is calling for thunderstorms this afternoon, and I don’t want you getting caught outside.”

Morisuke winced. 

“Thunderstorms? But the sky is clear, I thought it would be fine if I just came out for a little while, how could a storm move in that fast?” He mumbled, feeling a hint of panic.

His mother was quick to smooth things over.

“It doesn’t look like it’ll hit for another few hours, just get home soon as you can, alright? Shin, Mei, and myself are going to the underground, we’ll be back late tonight. Unless you want us to wait up for you?”

Morisuke shook his head despite the fact he was on the phone.

“Nah, I want to mess around with the stuff I got from the little girl, a few things in here I haven’t seen before.” 

“Alright, well be careful. Tooru’s with you right?”

“Sure is.” He grumbled, looking up at the ghost who was lounging in the sky a few yards above him, black leather jacket tails hanging down beneath him as if gravity actually had some affect.

“Good, well, we’re taking the other three with us to the underground, you two be safe, see you later! Love you!” 

With this the line went dead.

Looking up at the sky reproachfully what with the news of the coming storm, Morisuke tried his best to focus on his task again. Finally, he found an angle he could read the words from.

_To give the sight to one who cannot see, and drag into a world of darkness one whom in light their life leads._

Morisuke lowered the ring in confusion.

“What the hell does that mean?” He mumbled as he tucked the magnifying glass back into the pocket of his bag and slid the ring into his pants pocket.

“Find something neat?” Tooru asked, floating about him.

He was the only company Morisuke at the moment. Naturally, he could see nature sprites flitting about near the edge of the park garden, and there were a few rogue spirits about, but nothing too dangerous. They didn’t make good company, the rogue spirits were irritable and grumpy, and the nature sprites, while friendly, didn’t have time to spend chatting with a teenage necromancer.

“Not really.” Morisuke replied.

Tooru pouted. “What’s with the ring?” He demanded.

Morisuke shrugged as he stood up.

“It says ‘To give the sight to one who cannot see, and drag into darkness one whom in light their life leads.’ Any clue what that means?”

Tooru put a finger to his lips.

“Well, don’t you necromancer people call the abilities to see ghosts and demons and stuff the abilities of ‘sight’?” 

Morisuke nodded. “Sure do.” 

“And since Ken-chan can ‘see’ even though his parents and none of his other family can, he’s a special type of ‘seer', right?”

Morisuke hummed. “Yeah. Since Kenma wasn’t trained in necromancy from a young age like I was, he can see the monsters and ghosts and stuff, but he can’t really do much about it. He can do possessions like I can, but it took him a while to get the grip of using weapons and stuff. Doesn't stop him now, though, he's probably better at casting spells and controlling magic power than I am at this point.”

Oikawa did a lazy backflip before drifting down to hover only an inch or two above the ground, toes of his black boots almost brushing the grass. That is, if they _could_ touch the grass. 

“It gives sight to someone who can’t see. If that means what it means to most necromancers, than shouldn’t it be, like, some sort of magic you can use?” He asked, tilting his head to the side.

Morisuke put his knuckles to his chin. 

“So it offers the sight to one who cannot see...oh my god.” 

His eyes widened.

“This ring can let a normal everyday person ‘see’!? That’s, like, unheard of!”

Tooru gave a peace sign.

“All in a days work.” He said with a smile.

Morisuke took the ring back out of his pocket to investigate it again.

“It can let someone who can’t see you guys...see you...that’s, that’s incredible.” 

_This ring could prove to anyone that I’m not crazy..._

Morisuke shook his head. 

_No, no, not like that. I’ll save it. Maybe one day I’ll find someone worth giving it too._

Curse his traitorous thoughts for having green eyes and silver hair occur to him after this consideration. He dug through his backpack of treasures to find the thin silver chain that had also ben a part of the reward from the other side for helping the little girl find her stuffed bear. He strung the ring onto the chain and hooked the clasp around his neck.

_There._

He tucked the ring down under his shirt.

_It’ll stay there until I find someone worth giving it too._

“Alright, let’s head home.” He looked up and saw that some fast moving dark clouds were drifting over the beautiful blue that had once taken up the whole sky. 

“Yeah, yeah, let’s go, _now._ ” He said a bit more urgently, feeling a painful throb in his heart at the sight of the dark clouds. 

“Uh oh...” He looked up when he heard Tooru say this with a mischievous tone of voice. 

“What?”

“Lover boy at 3 o’clock.” The ghost pointed with a cheeky smile.

Yaku looked over his shoulder and his winced at the sight of Lev walking through the park gates, wearing jeans, a red tee shirt, and a gray warm looking hoodie, eyes on his phone.

“Thanks for the save, let’s get out of here before he sees me, I don’t want to get dragged into a conversation.” 

Morisuke said hurriedly, shoving his hands in his pants pockets and stalking off towards the opposite exit, which led to the road back to his house, walking faster than he usually would.

Tooru whined.  
“Aw, come on, you’re no fun! He’s been doing practically everything to spend more time with you, but all you do is eat lunch with him and then walk to the corner together!”

Yaku rolled his eyes.  
“Yeah, I also practice with him all the time, that’s good enough, isn’t it?”  
Tooru grasped at his dark brown spikes of perfectly styled hair.  
“No! No it isn’t! You don’t even invite him to sit with you for lunch!”  
Morisuke looked up at the ghost tiredly.

“No, I don’t, but I sit in the same spot every day on the roof, on the same bench, in the same corner. That’s more than enough of an invitation in my book. If I didn’t want him around, I wouldn’t sit in the same spot everyday.”

Tooru deflated, arms hanging down as he glided through the air at Yaku’s side.

“Ok, true, but still! He obviously really likes you! And I know for a fact you _liiiiike_ him!” 

Morisuke blew at a wayward strand of auburn hair in his eyes.

“I don’t appreciate what you are insinuating.” 

Tooru threw his arms up.  
“I am insinuating you have a crush on the guy! It’s blatantly obvious! You’re lucky he’s so oblivious or he totally would have noticed by now!” 

Morisuke felt his cheeks light up.  
“No I do not!” He snapped.

Oikawa crossed his arms as they rounded the corner of the gate, now standing just out Lev’s sight should he decide to glance up from his phone.

“You’re getting close to fire truck red, genius.”  
“Shut up!” 

Tooru groaned, planting a palm to his forehead.  
“Just give it a shot, what have you got to lose?”

Morisuke looked pointedly at the ground away from the ghost.  
“Oh, I don’t know, what little sanity I have left to everyone at school? Not to mention he’s literally the second friend I’ve made since primary school who’s actually breathing. Not worth it, ok?”

“You aren’t denying it anymore, that’s progress.” Tooru hummed, nodding proudly.  
“Shut up, trash king.”

“RUDE!” 

Morisuke opened his mouth to retort before a great rumble of thunder scared him nearly out of his skin. 

“Oh no...” Tooru had been so focused on the fact that Lev had made an appearance that he hadn’t even noticed the reason why Morisuke had been so eager to leave.

“Ok, ok, you’re right, come on, let’s get you home.” Tooru said quickly. 

Despite the fact they appeared to be near the same age, Oikawa had been hanging around their family since Morisuke had been in primary school. 

Therefore, he knew that while the youngest of the Yaku family could face demons, ghosts, gremlins, and undead monsters without batting an eyelash, he was absolutely terrified of the sight of lightning and the sound of thunder.

If he could, Tooru would have snatched Morisuke up and hightailed it to the house, where Morisuke could hide in the safety of his room until the storm passed, headphones on and cranked up to the highest volume. 

However, he couldn’t physically touch the auburn haired necromancer, which was an issue.

Judging by how quickly it looked like the storm was moving in, Oikawa could tell there was no way he could coax Morisuke into running all the way home. He’d only wind up getting frozen up with fear halfway there and that would be even worse. Looking around, the ghost spotted the pavilion way off at the back edge of the park.

“We can weather it out under there, ok?”

Morisuke swallowed, his eyes wide.

“R-Right, ok.” He followed the ghosts lead.

Before they’d even taken four steps the sky opened up, pelting rain falling down.

“Go go go!” Tooru encouraged, the raindrops flying straight through him. 

Thankfully, the thunder held off until they were under the pavilion. 

Tooru looked down with deep worry at Morisuke, who was soaked to the bone and shivering in the wind that was blowing underneath the pavilion.

Another crack of thunder and Morisuke let out a pitiful sounding squeak, vanishing under the closest picnic table.

Tooru looked around desperately.

_I could get him too...no, damn it, Ikumi-san and the other two are in the underground! There is those two in the basement but...no, they can’t come out here, they’ll be seen by other humans and I haven’t got anything that I could give them to wear that would make them look normal! Damn, damn, what now?_

That was when a gasp was heard from behind him and he looked over his shoulder to see Lev leaning on his knees, his hoodie having somehow escaped getting all that wet. 

_He must have been closer by, he’s practically dry..._

Tooru then looked back over his shoulder to where Morisuke was still cowering underneath the picnic table.

_This...this isn't good..._

He then thought back to the blushes and smiles and oh so awkward half a second long touches he'd been right behind Yaku to witness every time. 

The chocolate brown orbs darted back and forth again, then, a shaky smile made it's way to the surface of his translucent face.

_...or maybe it is?_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all! Mori's in a pickle, isn't he? Poor guy, he can deal with demons, ghosts, and goblins galore, but thunder has him shaking in his little boots? ;-;  
> Anyway! Please drop a comment! They help Morisuke deal with thunder! Thanks so so so much for reading!!!


	6. Weathering the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, look at Amethyst, being so super creative with the chapter titles! *cries in the corner*   
> Also thank you so much CynicalGhostie for drawing the Yaku Trio I love it so much! :D  
> Anyway! Maybe the chapter title is awful, but hopefully the chapter itself is good! Please enjoy it!

Lev groaned, looking out at the building storm and then back down at his phone again.

He’d run back to this area of the park after realizing there was no way he’d make it home before getting soaked to the bone. He’d escaped getting more than lightly dusted by the beginnings of the rain. Now it was really coming down, great big drops of water pounding loudly onto the metal roof of the picnic pavilion.

“Guess I’m stuck.” He leaned his head back and let the hoodie of his jacket fall off his head, shoving his phone into his back pocket after texting his sister to let her know he was safe but would be late coming home.

A massive clap of thunder made the ground shake, and to his great surprise Lev actually heard a soft squeak of obvious terror coming from somewhere behind him.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw nothing. 

He didn’t know there was a spirit of a former yakuza member currently yelling himself horse right next to him trying to get him to look underneath the picnic table on the opposite side of the concrete slab beneath the structure.

He shivered when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up suddenly when the hand of the spirit when clear through his arm in an attempt to get him to look down. 

Tooru threw his arms up.

“He’s under the table! Under the table! _Help him!_ ” He hollered.

Meanwhile, curled into an impossibly small ball underneath the table, hugging his knees to his chest and leaning back against the umbrella stand set up underneath it, Morisuke was reasonably sure he was about to need a seer himself. 

That is to say, he was certain he was gong to die. 

The thunder was rattling the whole of the measly structure, the wind was whistling through the park and causing the chains of the swing set to clang and bounce off the posts holding it up. The lightning flashed overhead and not long afterwards another thunderclap shook the ground.

What would he need in order to move on? 

Maybe he’d have to get over this childish fear of storms, but that would likely mean he’d be wandering between the spiritual and material planes forever. Ever since he was a little kid he’d found the sound of thunder petrifying. It made it sound like the sky was breaking, and having grown up always knowing there was something more up there, it scared him to think that if it ever did break, the beasts and creatures would be so angry. Just imagine how mad the big guy upstairs and his lackeys would be if these big loud noises broke _his_ sky! They might even take it out on all the necromancers in the world for not stopping it! 

Of course, he didn’t really think in those terms now. He knew thunder couldn't actually break the sky, and he knew that even if the sky somehow did break, the big guy upstairs would probably just fix it over getting angry at all the necromancers down below.

Even still, the fear had never gone away, and that within itself was the issue here.

Meanwhile, after the next round of thunder rolled through, Lev heard yet another choked sob and finally realized that it was coming from under the tables.

Tooru did a victory dance when he saw the silver haired boy crouch down and look under the tables. 

His mouth fell open.

“Yaku-san?” He jumped back up and ran around the tables, sliding under the table that Morisuke was sheltering under.

The auburn haired third year had literally no reaction, mostly because he hadn’t even noticed Lev was there.

“Yaku-san, are you ok?”

Tears weighed heavily on his eyelashes as Mori lifted his head enough to meet emerald green eyes.

“W-What the hell are you...” He began before another thunder clap shook the sky.

Morisuke scrunched his head back down, shaking uncontrollably.

“Yaku-san, you’re scared of thunder?”

In the next lull, Morisuke managed a harsh look, which was a little bit too overtaken by fear to be intimidating, but it was there all the same.

“Wow...what ti-tipped you o-off?” He hissed.

Lev gave a soft hum.

“Yeah, that was a dumb question.” He mumbled, hunched over in order to fit beneath the table.

Another flash of lightning, another clap of thunder, another miserable whimper from the libero who was now shivering in the heavy wind that was weaving it’s way underneath the table, still soaked after having been caught outside when the heavier rain had started.

Without even thinking, Lev shed his jacket and threw it around his smaller upperclassman’s shoulders.

“Why are you...” Morisuke began, before another rumble silenced him. 

“I don’t know, I figured it would help.” Lev replied, only just now realizing how very _boyfriend-like_ the gesture was.

“He _liiiiikes_ you.” 

Yeah, let’s not forget Tooru was still here. 

Morisuke almost shouted back at the ghost but bit his lip. He couldn’t, not with Lev sitting right beside him.

All thoughts about these things were wiped away when yet another massive rumble of thunder shattered the sky.

Morisuke ducked his head down again and seized the hoodie of the overlarge jacket, pulling it over his head. 

It muffled the noise, only slightly, but he was grateful even for that.

All Morisuke knew was for about the next close to three hours, Lev sat there on the cold cement slab with him, hunched under a picnic table as the rain continued relentlessly falling down, not to mention the still all to frequent thunder and lightning that accompanied it in a symphony of paralyzing terror for the poor libero trapped out here.

Somehow, at least a good hour in, Yaku had managed to fall into a sort of fitful half-sleep that made the time go quicker.

When he finally gathered the courage to crack his eyes open, he could hear the soft, gently patter of a lessening sprinkle kissing the metallic rooftop, and there was no thunder to be heard.

He slowly drew  back the hood of the jacket and lifted his head from the warm surface it had been resting on, almost scared that the second he did it would start all over again. It took a moment for him to even remember where he was. 

That is, until he realized he was curled up against his much taller crushes very warm chest, with his lanky arms around Mori’s shoulders, and the thing he’d just lifted his head off of had been Lev’s shoulder.

Yaku’s soul could have left his body from the embarrassment. 

Looking up, he realized Lev was asleep.

_Ok, ok, so maybe I can just..._

“Thank god you woke up! I thought you freaking passed out!” 

Morisuke snapped his head to the side to see Tooru floating next to the table, looking absolutely beside himself with worry.

Ha, a ghost, beside himself.

Ha ha.

“You’re still here!? Why didn’t you go get help!?” Yaku shouted.

Lev jumped into the land of the living at the voice. 

Morisuke glared daggers at Tooru before turning his attention to Lev, who shook his head, seeming rather sleep drunk.

“Oh...oh! Yaku-san! Right! The storm! Is it over?” 

He straightened up and instantly banged his head on the table.

“Ow...” He whined, rubbing his scalp through his silver locks as tears welled into the corners of his eyes.

“I think the worst of it is done.” Morisuke said, squinting out at the still dark world outside the table where they’d been sheltering.

Lev put a hand to his chest.

“Oh, good, I’m glad! I was worried we’d get stuck here overnight!”

Morisuke then became all to aware of the fact that he was still tucked right up against the younger boys side. 

Thankfully, sparing Morisuke any extra humiliation, Lev didn’t call any attention to this, but then, he didn’t move his other arm yet either.

“I didn’t know you were scared of storms, Yaku-san. Why were you out here? It said on the forecast today there would be scattered thunderstorms!”

Morisuke sighed. “I had something to do out here, I was right about to leave when the thunder started.”

Lev frowned. “What was worth coming out here if you’re _this_ scared of thunder? When I found you under here you could barely even move!”

_Can you stop calling attention to it?_

Morisuke requested in his head, before recalling the expression of joy that had spread across that pale, slightly luminescent face of the little girl when he’d emerged from that thicket with the barely strung together stuffed bear under his arm.

“I had to help a friend.” He replied finally.

_And I’d spend another three hours under here in a thunderstorm if it meant that she was able to go free to the other side again._

That was his job, after all. 

Lev seemed to understand, and to Morisuke’s great surprise he didn’t even press about who it had been that needed help, or why in a park of all places they needed it.

Or why Morisuke had been decidedly friendless when the storm had actually started. 

Not that Morisuke wasn't just perpetually friendless, but still.

Now, the first year seemed more concerned with the realization that he was still holding the auburn haired boy to his side.

“Oh! Uh, sorry! I just...” He stuttered, quickly pulling his arm away.

Morisuke almost wanted to reach out and pull it back. 

_Almost._

Lev crawled out from under the table with Morisuke close behind and stretched his arms above his head. 

Emerald eyes flicked skyward and he frowned. “It looks like it might start again any second. We should probably get going.”

“Yeah, good idea.” Morisuke agreed.

They left the park walking fast, Morisuke pulling his hoodie closer around him, not even remembering that it _wasn’t_ his hoodie at all.

Morisuke slowed at the apartment complex where Lev lived, but the half Russian made no moves to stop.

He turned around with a bit of a bashful expression. 

“Uh, I was thinking maybe I should walk the rest of the way with you? Not that you couldn’t go by yourself it’s just if the storm starts again then I don’t know maybe...” Lev dropped his gaze, suddenly realizing how much more than friends that made his care for the third year sound.

Morisuke almost told him off and ran for it, until Tooru came into view right behind Lev.

“Say yes! Yes! Do it! It’s the first step, Mori-chan! Also I cannot go through that again I lost ten years off my...well...just do it!” Tooru was clearly about to use the saying ‘I lost ten years off my life’ when he realized that that wasn’t exactly possible.

Anyway.

Morisuke was now almost definitely about to tell Lev that he didn’t need an escort, that is, until he saw under the awkwardness to the worry in those emerald eyes.

It was worry all the same.

_God dammit._

“Fine, whatever, but if you get struck by lightning it’s not my fault.” 

Morisuke said pointedly as he continued on, bypassing the gates of the apartment complex and up the sidewalk.

Lev was right by his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! The next chapter will be the conclusion of this whole storm debacle and maybe we'll have some fun with the family and the other members of the unorthodox household? :D Well! Please drop a comment below, they help Lev break through Mori's emotional brick wall, and thanks so much for reading!


	7. The Long Walk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'know the way home feels a lot longer when Lev is with me, why does the universe hate me?-Mori  
> Pooooor Mori XD But hey, hopefully it'll work out for the best! Here we go, please enjoy! :D

“Is anyone from your family home?” Lev asked, clearly hoping the get the air cleared after how he’d revealed the depth of his care for his upperclassman.

“No, they all went to market. We run an antiques repair type thing, along with artifacts and stuff. They left earlier today, and I stayed behind to help out my friend at the park.” 

“Oh! So that’s what you guys do!” Lev exclaimed, looking pleased.

_I finally got something out of him!_

The silver haired boy was intrigued with the short auburn haired third year. He found him interesting and different from everyone else who seemed to have the same boring hobbies and the same boring life. 

Yaku was different, he was secretive but at the same time Lev found him so friendly, and the way everyone talked about him made him so upset.

_Why are you hanging around with the crazy upperclassman?_

Lev sighed. All those things he’d heard, he didn’t understand a single word of them.

_Did you know his sister once threw a knife at a teacher?_

He should ask Yaku about that, maybe it was a misunderstanding, or a rumor going to far.

_And his brother went a whole year without ever talking at school!_

So what if he’s shy? Maybe he only talked to friends during that time? Maybe he’s just quiet?

_His mom is a psycho, I heard one time someone saw her running around with an axe!_

Now that’s just ridiculous. _  
He’s always talking to himself, and weird things always happen when he’s around! Stuff falls down, doors slam, and it gets cold and hot for no reason!_

_He’s so freaky! If you’re smart, you’d stay away from him!_

But...Lev didn’t want to stay away.

Lev frowned as he looked down at the libero who was currently recounting something about how his mother had shown him the gold coins she’d found on a snorkeling trip in South America.

_I don’t get it, sure, he’s a little strange, but it’s not fair for him to be so alone. I really want to get to know him better, and...maybe I could be someone to him?_

He felt his pale cheeks heat up at the thought, and Tooru, who was observing the whole thing from the side, started silently cheering. He knew he didn’t have to stay quiet, Lev wouldn’t hear him either way, but he didn’t want to distract Morisuke now that he was finally opening up.

Lev spoke up now.

“So, what are you siblings like? Your mom sounds super nice!”

Morisuke considered it.  
“Mei’s really loud, and she’s also super protective. See, she’s three years older than Shin, and five years older than me, so she was always making sure we were ok. Our Mom, back when we were little kids, worked almost all the time to keep us in our house and make sure she could afford stuff like school uniforms and supplies. That type of thing. Mei would stand on a chair to cook, she’d scare off the wi...I mean the bullies who would to pick on Shin for being so quiet.”

_Or witches who would try to kill him for being a necromancer but let’s not go there quite yet._

Morisuke considered. 

_Nice save._

He shook his head and picked back up the conversation. 

 _“_ Yeah, Shin, he’s so quiet. He barely ever talks outside the house, but he’s actually just really nervous. I mean, at least I think so. Honestly, he’s really closed off, but then, he’s super protective of me too.”

Morisuke made an irritated expression.

“The curse of being the youngest of three.”

Lev laughed. “Well, my sister is pretty intense, but your siblings sound fun to hang around with. They sound like opposites.”

“Oh yeah, for sure. Mei will run in guns blazing and Shin always hangs back and finds a way to make the whole place come down on someones head without anyone ever even knowing he was there.” Morisuke replied.

The walk continued like this under they were snaking up the hill to the back.  
“You can go, if you want, my house is just up this way.” Morisuke said.

Lev shrugged.   
“I might as well come, and I wanna see what your house looks like!”

Yaku groaned. “Whatever.”  
He then casually caught Tooru attention and turned his head, mouthing.

_Go._

The deceased yakuza member shot up the hill as Morisuke tried his best to slow down their pace.

He went straight through the front door.  
“Waka-chan! Tori-chan!” He shouted, shooting to the kitchen.

Ushijima was boiling a kettle on the stove, his arrow tipped tail sticking out of the band of his jeans. He had a large set of twisted, shiny dark red devil horns coming out of the sides of his head, emerging right from his dark brown hair.

Satori had a set that stuck straight up, more like antenna really, very thin but with a point like a swords tip. His tail was swaying to and fro as he babbled about one thing or another to his boyfriend.

Another thing that perhaps should have been mentioned earlier, the Yaku family didn’t only hunt demons, they also took in the exiled ones, called risen demons. They only had two at the moment, but over the course of family history dozens had lived with them, serving the family faithfully in exchange for being hidden from the real world and having a safe place to live.

“Oh, hey, you guys got back! Where’s Morisuke?” Satori asked, looking over to him. 

“He got roped into being walked home by his soon to be boyfriend! _Ahhh!_ You guys have to get downstairs incase Mori winds up having to let the guy in!” 

Ushijima made an expression that could be decoded as a pout.  
“But my tea is nearly done...” He looked to the still warming kettle.

“GO!” Tooru shrieked, pointing towards the basement door.

“Fine, fine! C’mon Waka, we can have tea in a minute! Don’t wanna mess up Morisuke’s high school romance!” Satori insisted, seizing the still unwilling demon by the arm and hustling him out of the kitchen and to the basement door.  
“Keep us in the know!” Satori shouted over his shoulder as Tooru swept past, causing the door to slam in his wake.

Tooru blasted back out of the house, clear through the front door, and found the two of them just coming around the corner.

In his haste, the brunette swept through the gate instead of over it, which caused the latch to come undone and the gate to go slamming open.

Tooru winced and Lev jumped.  
“Whoa! What was that?” He looked suspiciously at the green painted fence, the gate now hanging open on creaky hinges.  
“They must have left the gate open, and it blows around real easy. No big deal.” Morisuke said with ease, coming up with the lie no problem.

Tooru sighed with relief. 

_Thank god he’s such a quick thinker._

The ghost then gave the necromancer a double thumbs up.

Yaku jutted his chin to show he’d seen him.

“Ok, well, thanks a lot for everything, Lev...I really would have been in trouble if you hadn’t shown up. Thanks for staying with me, you didn’t have to.”

He smiled.

Lev’s cheeks flushed and he waved his hands quickly, trying hard to play it off.

“N-No problem! I, uh, yeah! Anytime! I mean, no, don’t go out in another thunderstorm but...”

They mounted the steps of the front deck and Morisuke unlocked the door.  
He laughed. “I get it. See you tomorrow at school.”

He pushed the door open and from inside the house came the sharp whistle of a kettle.

Morisuke’s eyes widened.

Lev furrowed his brow, confused.  
“I thought you said your family wasn’t coming home until tomorrow?”

“Must have come home early! See you tomorrow!” 

Morisuke darted inside and slammed the door, hands flying to the snap the multiple deadbolts, chain locks, and knob locks into place.

He leaned back against the door and slid to the ground.

“That was close...” Yaku groaned, knocking his head back against the wood as the kettle continued to wail on the stove.

“Is it clear!?” Satori’s voice came from the basement.

“Yeah!” Morisuke shouted back as he hurried into the kitchen and pulled the kettle from the burner, switching the stovetop off.

Ushijima came in and spoke with all of his usual bluntness.

“I apologize for leaving the kettle on, it was my mistake, I do hope it didn’t ruin your interaction with your soon to be boyfriend.”

Satori snorted.

“No, no, it’s fine Waka it’s just...wait _who_ told you that!?” Morisuke shouted.  
“Oikawa, of course.”

“TRASH KING GET YOUR GHOSTLY ASS DOWN HERE!” 

After giving Tooru a good tongue lashing...

_There’s gotta be a better phrase for that._

...Morisuke headed upstairs with a cup of tea Ushijima had made for him as a peace offering and collapsed into bed.

Glancing to the side, he reached out and picked up his journal from his nightstand. He scribbled the story of the thunderstorm, of Lev coming to his rescue, and of waking up in his arms.

 

_He was blushing like crazy when he was trying to wish me well...he must just be nervous. I guess it is kind of weird, this whole situation was really weird. Not to mention Tooru’s spreading word of my crush to every ghost and demon who’ll hear it. Not long before I start getting an earful from Mei and Mom about it. At least I can count on Shin to leave me alone._

 

Shaking his head, Morisuke closed the journal and dropped it into the drawer of his nightstand.

He picked up his mug and took a sip from it.

_For someone who was supposed to be a servant of satan, he makes really good tea._

As Morisuke pondered just where Ushijima had gotten such a fondness for brewing speciality teas, Tooru came in through the open door, which instantly slammed shut behind him, as per usual.

“Mori-chan! Oh my god, can you believe this? The way he blushed, he’s totally into you! You should ask him out!” 

Morisuke’s cheeks bulged but he managed not to spit tea everywhere.

He awkwardly swallowed the hot drink and shouted.

“No way! He doesn’t like me like that, and I swear, you idiot, if you start telling everyone about it I will kill you even though you’re already dead!”

His phone rang before he could go any further, and he picked it up to see Kenma calling.

“Hey.” He said into the phone.

“You survived?” Kenma sounded as invested as ever, which is to say, not at all.

“Barely. Got stuck out at the park and had to weather it out under a picnic table.”

Kenma hummed. “Yeah, Tooru said your soon to be boyfriend came to your rescue.”

Morisuke’s eye started twitching and Tooru bailed straight up through the ceiling.

Before he could go on any sort of tirade, he let out a massive sneeze.

It occurred to him just now he was still wearing damp clothes and an oversized hoodie.

 _Oversized_ hoodie.

 _Lev’s_ hoodie.

“AH-CHOO!”

“Gesundheit.” Kenma said over the phone.

Tooru threw a box of tissues at his head. 

Now that they were back in the house, the ghost could get his cold hands on everything, so long as there weren’t any normal humans in the vicinity.

The box bounced off his forehead and he let out an extremely long, tired groan, flopping backwards and barely saving his tea.

“Is everything alright?” The gamer asked, still on the phone with him.

“Wait till you here all this, Kenma...it’s been one hell of a day.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! Please drop a comment, they help Mori survive his newfound cold! Leave a kudos and thanks for reading!


	8. Reveal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! Ok so I just wrote ahead to a part I'm SO SO SO excited about and I literally cannot wait to get that chapter up, it'll be soooo great! It delves into the rest of necromancer society and does universe building so yay!!  
> Ok! Please enjoy!

**_Morisuke’s bedroom._ **

 

_“AH-CHOO!”_

Tooru offered him a tissue.

He snatched it from his icy fingers and blew his nose.

“Thanks.” He groaned, voice scratchy.

“There is no way in hell you’re going to school tomorrow. It’s been like five hours since we got back and you’re already sick as a dog!” Tooru said firmly.

Yaku groaned. “But I have like three assignments and if I don’t go I’ll have to make them up and...”

“We all know you really just want to give Lev his hoodie back.”

“SHUT U...ah...ahhhh...”

Tooru plucked another tissue from the box with a resigned expression.

_“AH-CHOO!”_

The yakuza member threw the tissue up and the necromancer snatched it from the air, looking pissed.

“Fine, fine, I won’t go.” He grumbled, his voice stuffy.

“Hey, Morisuke! I know you feel like shit, but guess what, you’ve got my Miracle Boy’s tea and shortbread cookies to make you feel better! He made you a whole pot and lit a timed flame in the center of it so it’ll stay nice and hot until you finish it! Isn’t he thoughtful?”

Satori bumped the door open with his hip, tail swishing, his tight red long sleeve riding up his hips.

He was carrying a tray with a plate of the fresh cookies, a worn old china pot from Ikumi’s travels, and two large mugs.

He set the tray down and Tooru stared at the cookies, drooling.

Satori waved one in front of him. “Want one? Oh wait, you can’t eat anything!” 

Tooru crossed his arms and stuck his nose into the air.  “Maybe not, but I can still smell it!”

Satori popped the cookie into his mouth, chewing loudly just to torment the ghost, then turned to Morisuke as he poured out a cup of tea for him. 

“Say, enlighten me, oh great necromancer master, why can he touch stuff in the house when there’s no non-seer’s around, but can’t eat or drink anything?”

Yaku sniffled, wiping his nose with a tissue before he spoke. “Mom cast a spell on the house, a sort of shell. It makes it possible for the ghosts to will themselves into tangibility rather easily. Despite that, it doesn’t bring them back to life, they can’t eat anything or drink anything because they’re ghosts, it’ll just go straight through them.” 

While Tooru continued drooling over the cookies, Yaku took the offered mug from Satori and sat back against his pillows.

“Remind me why you guys are my surrogate mothers right now? I just want to sleep...” He grumbled as he took a long gulp from the mug, relishing how it soothed his sore throat.

Satori gave him the mom finger, appropriately enough, as Tooru continued staring desperately at the cookies. 

“Because your actual mom told me and Waka to take care of you and your siblings even at the cost of our own lives. Don’t let my dashing good looks fool you, I’m over one thousand years old and I’ve dragged down more humans than you’ve received volleyballs.”

Yaku rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know, and?” 

Satori deflated. “That was supposed to be at least a little shocking.”

Morisuke shrugged. “It would have been if you hadn’t told me that at least fifty times before.”

Satori pursed his lips.

“Fine. Whatever. Anyway, me and Waka rose because we wanted to be together and have a shot of making it to the pretty place up there.”

Satori pointed up.

“Issue is.”

He made a so-so gesture. “We’re more or less immortal, so instead we wound up wandering around aimlessly for like, ever, hiding from the people that the big guy downstairs sent after us.”

Tooru furrowed his brow, finally tearing his eyes off the cookies.

“How did you guys wind up in our basement, anyway?”

Yaku groaned. “Don’t get him to tell this story again...”

Satori clapped his hands. “Why, let me tell you my fine ghostly friend!”

Tooru looked to Yaku with a worried face. “What have I started?”

Morisuke flopped back against the headboard of his bed with another drawn out groan.

Satori stood up, nearly sloshing his mug everywhere, he rolled up his sleeves, and gave them a happy wink. “So, me and Waka, we were out in this really bad snowstorm in...I think it was one of the Scandinavian countries, don’t remember which one. Maybe it wasn’t even Scandinavia...I don’t remember really, it was somewhere up there!”

He seemed pretty nonchalant about this.

“The snowstorm was so cold, and, y’know, demons, hellfire, all that, we weren’t exactly dressed for the weather. We were beat up from our last encounter with other servants who were sent to kill us for being traitors. I mean, we were exiled to the mortal plane, and then the big guy downstairs was like ‘Hey, you know what? Just have them killed instead!’ and had all this fun chasing us all around the human world with his pawns. Anyway! We were legit about the die out there when this human lady shows up outta nowhere. Like, one second she wasn’t there, one second, boom!”

Satori made an ‘explosion’ gesture with his free hand.

“Waka jumps in front of me thinking she’s a hunter, which, I mean, she was, but she wasn’t hunting us. She just comes right up to us, all calm, and she asks us why we were there. Waka, being king of honesty, says ‘Because we fell in love.’ and she asks ‘With who?’ and he says ‘With each other.’ She makes this sort of ‘oh’ expression and then says she’d take us in. I mean, we might have been 999 years old at the time, but that’s the same as being teenagers in the human world. We were scared, confused, and we didn’t know what to do.” 

Satori smiled. “That lady was Ikumi-san! She made a servants contract with us, and once we were under it, no one else came to attack us! Something to do with the magic of the contract, since we were under a bond of servitude again, it made it impossible for our previous ‘employer’ to track us. Pretty sure he’s lost interest by now, anyway.”

“And now you live in her basement and make tea for of her weird necromancer kids.” Tooru finished lamely with a bored expression.

Satori shrugged. “Pretty much. Not a bad deal if you ask me. When I showed up she was was pregnant with Morisuke, and the other two were these little fun sized things, I had so much with you guys when you were little!”

_“AH-CHOO!”_

The attention was drawn back to Mori when he let loose another gargantuan sneeze.

Tooru wordlessly passed him another tissue.

Satori sat back down on the foot of the bed.

“Now, let’s talk about something I’m curious about, what’s with the ring?”

Morisuke recalled that he still had the ring he’d found in the loot pile from the little girl strung around his neck.

“Oh, yeah...” He touched the band absentmindedly.

After explaining the circumstances to Satori, the demon looked pensive for a moment before speaking.

“That ring...it’s a blessing and a curse.”

Morisuke looked befuddled.  “How so? I mean, I guess being able to see the other side would be a big issue, but...”

Tendou shook his head. “That’s not it.”

He said decisively.

He put a finger up then, black pointed nail glinting in the light of his bedside lamp like a claw.

“To give the sight to one who cannot see, and drag into a world of darkness one whom in light their life leads, doesn’t they sound at least a little bit off putting to you? Especially the ‘drag’ part? Doesn’t exactly sound very consensual.” He shuddered.

Tooru shrugged. “I mean, I guess so, but what’s the harm? You can always take the ring back off.”

Tendou shook his head.  “That’s just the thing...hey, can I see it?”

Hesitantly, Morisuke removed the ring from the chain around his neck and handed it to the demon. Careful not to put it even on the tip of his finger, Satori held it in his palm and tapped it with his pointer finger.

_“Reveal.”_

A small red pentagram circle appeared until the ring, and a purple smoke started ebbing from it.

“It’s a spell I learned a long time ago, pretty handy for working with magical artifacts. Watch closely.” Satori demanded, serious for once.

Morisuke watched as the purple smoke formed itself into a sort of human like figure. The figure put it’s arm out and demonstrated it held a black ring in it’s stub of a hand. The black ring oozed smoke, and in this incarnation it certainly did look devilish. The smoke-like person slipped the ring onto it’s finger, and just like that more black smoke began to swept up from the ring in the palm of Satori’s hand. Ghosts, goblins, demons, all of them started moving to and fro around the human like figure, which instantly collapsed to it’s knees, clutching at it’s head in a silent scream.

It tried to take the ring off again to no avail. 

That was when it got a bit gory, showing the figure pulling a knife from behind it’s back and hacking off it’s own hand. The ring reappeared on it’s other hand, and it hacked off it’s other hand with the knife in it’s non existent mouth. It reappeared around the smoke like humans neck and just like that, the human like figure cut it’s own head off. 

All the smoke then merged together and exploded outward in a small cloud before fading away.

“Whoa.” Morisuke said slowly as the magic circle closed and Satori handed him the ring back.

“So...it’ll drive a human crazy?” Tooru asked.

Satori shook his head. “I don’t think the ring will, I’m pretty positive the ring just gives the ability of sight. Issue is, without anyone to explain it to a regular human, it’ll be like going insane. Seeing all those things for the first time in your life? Pretty horrific, don’t you think?”

Morisuke sighed. “Yeah...I guess it’s not just a one time thing.”

Satori tapped his finger to his lip. “Yeah, but...”

He made jazz hands.

“Let’s say that a necromancer gave it to a non-seer, and then the necromancer was willing to help the non-seer with understanding and coping with everything new! I’ll bet then the non-seer would be really happy to have become a seer!”

Tooru gasped. “Oh, _yeah_ , I’m sure if the non-seer had a really positive, happy go lucky attitude, it would help!”

Morisuke looked at Tooru blankly.

“It would also help if he were tall.”

Morisuke narrowed his eyes.

“And green eyed.”

The necromancer rolled his eyes.

“And silver haired?”

“Tooru.” Morisuke said mutedly.

“And half Russian maybe?” Tooru wiggled his eyebrows at the bedridden necromancer.

“No way. I’m not dragging Lev down into a world of darkness.”

Satori sighed. “Oh well, just keep it on you, though. You never know, you might have to use it to get out of trouble one day.” 

Morisuke threaded the ring back onto the chain around his neck as the demon stood and picked up the now empty pot of tea and plate of nothing but crumbs.

“I’ll be back with seconds~” He sang, kicking the door open and strolling out into the hallway, pointed black tail flicking behind him, long sharp horns just missing touching the ceiling.

Tooru looked back to his sick friend before sighing.

“Mori...don’t you realize this is your chance you _finally_ have someone other than the creepy gamer kid see your world? You should at least talk it over with someone.”

Morisuke scoffed. “Tooru, I’m not doing it.” 

_He actually looks really sad about it..._

Tooru stood (read: floated) up and nodded.

“Alright, it’s your decision, and I might be a pushy jerk at the best of times, but I’m not gonna try and force you to give it to anyone. Just...think about it. Please? I feel like it'd be really good for you, more than just having those friends from the underground as your only connection with people who can see the other side.”

He set the tissue box he’d been holding down gently on the edge of the bed.

Morisuke mumbled a soft.

“Thank you.” 

As he rolled over and pulled his blanket over his head.

Tooru looked at him with a feeling of helplessness.

He cared about Morisuke like a little brother himself, he would always want the best for him, and always wanted him to smile and be happy. He’d known Morisuke since he’d been an infant. He’d been there when he’d taken his first steps, said his first words, killed his first goblin, cast his first spell, summoned his first monster, won his first volleyball match, drawn his first magic circle. 

All of these milestones, and he’d been just as happy, dare he say, maybe even happier than Morisuke’s own siblings every time.

The ghost drifted out into the hallway and made slowly for the kitchen.

_That’s why I’m pushing this relationship with Lev so much...every single time they’re together, Lev makes him smile. Makes him laugh. I want that for him, but he’ll never actually get it because of...well because of his father, and because of how his life is leading him in a world of darkness. Lev belongs in the normal world, the one without demons and ghosts and things that go bump in the night. Morisuke doesn’t want to force Lev down into the darkness. It makes sense but...all the same._

Tooru looked out the window at the gloomy overcast that had been leftover by the storm only five hours prior.

He heaved a bitter sigh.

_Things sure can get complicated fast, can’t they?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! I really hope you enjoyed it! I'll probably update again tomorrow at some point since I'm so far ahead in prewritten material so yup! Also thanks so much for everyone who said they'd draw pictures for this story, you have no idea how much it means to me!!! Please drop a comment, they help Tooru ignore the smell of Waka's delicious cookies, and thanks so so so much for reading!


	9. Mother Knows Best

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes Tangled was one of my favorite Disney princess movies shut up!  
> Anyway! Mori's still under the weather, poor boy, and it's time for more Yaku family fun! I really like writing them and I'm so glad I'm finally able to bring these three in I had plans for them in my two previous ongoings but it never really got to happen. Mei was in one chapter of my old story By your Side but that's about it ;-;  
> So without further ado, here we go! :D

**_Tuesday._ **

 

As promised, Morisuke had skipped school on Monday. His family had gotten home from the underground late on Sunday night and Satori had explained what had happened to them, thankfully omitting the ‘soon to be boyfriend’ part. His mother had chided him gently, but hadn’t gotten very angry since, for the most part, he’d had no control over the situation.

Today he was feeling somewhat better, well, better enough that he wasn’t immediately wrestled back into bed the second he tried to get up by his annoyingly protective family.

Or tackled by the family demon servants. 

Or yelled at by the protective ghosts, but, really, I think you get the idea. 

As such, he was sitting in the breakfast nook with a plastic grocery bag and a tissue box, a mug of Wakatoshi’s famous tea half drank in front of him, and his mother humming as she worked on some soup or another that she intended on serving for dinner. Most of the time Ushijima and Tendou would cook for them, and they were both excellent at it. Ikumi wasn't awful, per say, but she had a tendency of mixing up ingredients. 

Like the one time Shin had spat out his birthday cake when he'd found that she'd mistook salt for sugar, or that time Mei had gagged on a newt tail that had somehow made it's way into the rice balls.

He was struggling in his head with telling her about the secret currently hanging around his neck. 

_If I tell her, would she try to take it away?_

He recalled, then, when he’d gotten a reward for the first possession he’d ever done alone. He’d asked her what she wanted from the pile, thinking that of course she’d take something, but she put her hand up.

_“You did it all by yourself, honey! I won’t take any of it! If there’s anything in there you don’t really want, I’ll put it towards our usual things for stuff like Shin’s arrows and Mei’s scrolls, and food of course, that's the most important. Unless you want to buy our groceries from now on?”_

He’d laughed at that, and now, over four years later, he knew that even if she knew he had such a powerful and potentially dangerous item, she’d not try to take it from him.

She’d only try her best to educate him on how to use it right.

“Hey, Mom?” His voice cracked a bit, throat still sore and scratchy.

“What’s up?” She glanced over her shoulder. 

She was wearing black yoga pants, a baggy cold shoulder purple top, and had her short amount of auburn hair in a messy bun.

A true mom style, especially a mom with two, and one just about, fully grown kids still living with her. 

He hesitated.

“Have you...have you ever heard of any way for a non-seer to see?”

She paused, then set the wooden spoon she was holding down and turned around.

“What is this about?" She demanded, voice growing a tone serious.

Morisuke put his hands up in defense.

“Nothing! Nothing! It’s just...ok.” He reached into his shirt and pulled the ring up.

“This was in the reward left by the little girl I found in the park.” He explained.

She raised an eyebrow as she leaned on the counter with her elbows.

“And it has an engraving on the inside of it. It says, to give the sight to one who cannot see, and drag into a world of darkness one whom in light their life leads. Satori used a revealing spell on it, and it proved what I suspected. It’ll fully open the eyes of any non-seer, however, once it’s on, you can never take it off. It looked pretty morbid, even if you cut off your hand it’ll reappear on your other hand...and then...point is, it’s permanent.”

Ikumi looked at the ring, deep in thought for a moment, before she spoke.

“You should give it to someone, but only once you know that’s the person you want to spend the rest of your life with.”

Morisuke looked completely floored that she responded in such a way.

“W-Wait...you don’t think I should, like, save it away forever until an emergency or something?”

Ikumi smiled softly.

“You know...an item like that is invaluable. Clearly, the big boy’s underlings from upstairs gave it to you because they knew you had found someone. Anything you want to tell me about?”

Morisuke blanched. “They actually do stuff like that? I thought those were old wives tales?”

Ikumi winked. “The old man down at the apothecary in the Underground Town Center found nothing on the ground by an engagement ring after he helped a ghost who’d been with him for almost ten years finally move on. That was when he proposed to his wife, whom he’d met only four months before.”

Morisuke gawked.

“They’ve been together for like sixty years though!” He exclaimed in shock. 

She smiled warmly at him.

“Exactly. Now, do you have something you’d like to tell me about?”

Morisuke looked awkwardly to the side.

“Well...”

“MORI-CHAN IS IN LOVE WITH THE TALL FIRST YEAR THAT SAVED HIM DURING THE THUNDERSTORM!” Tooru shouted from the living room at the top of his no longer breathing lungs.

 _“Really?”_ His mother squealed.

“No!” Morisuke wailed.

“YES!” Tooru shrieked.

“SHUT UP TRASH KING!”  Morisuke shouted.

“RUUUUUUUDE!” Tooru howled, still from somewhere beyond view.

“Did I hear Mori has a crush?” Mei suddenly came whipping around the corner. Then, popping around on his hands and knees, for whatever reason, Shin was there too, black beanie pulled low over his forehead, pressing his auburn bangs down to completely conceal his eyes.

“You too, Shin!? You’re supposed to be on my team!” Morisuke shouted, pointing accusingly at his big brother.

Shinnosuke offered a shrug in means of condolence before both of them came hurrying into the kitchen. 

Shin slid into the seat on his left and Mei came onto his right. The nook had three barstool style seats with metallic backs.

Mei grinned at him, yet again donning her favorite kitty skull and crossbones shirt and gray jacket. Shin was wearing a black three fourths shirt with a green cargo vest and black jeans. He always wore the same belt, with the worn out notches from his quiver. 

Mei’s eyes were practically sparkling. “What’s he like? C’mon spill!”

Shin nodded several times in rapid succession, obviously in agreement. 

Morisuke, meanwhile, was stuck on something very different.

“HOW DID YOU KNOW IT WAS A GUY!?” He roared.

Shin put up a hand and then spoke in his usual quiet whisper of a voice.

“I was out hunting gremlins for spare changes when you two were walking home once. Saw you blushing when he wasn’t looking.”

“DAMMIT SHIN!” 

His mother gasped. “Language!”

All three of them stared disbelievingly at her.

“...dang it, Shin?” Morisuke tried again slowly.

Their mother nodded. “Better.” 

The three looked at each other awkwardly before Mei then gave her still slightly under the weather brother a sharp shake by the shoulders.

“Now come on, tell us!”

Feeling cornered, Morisuke regretfully recounted the story of how he’d met Lev via volleyball and wound up walking home with him every day for the past three months or so. He told them about the thunderstorm, about Tooru and Satori and finally, he told his siblings about the ring.

Mei looked awed.

“You should give it too him! Well, I mean, not now, make sure about all of it first, but if he’s the one you’ve been seeing, and the guys upstairs sent it too you in the reward, it’s gotta be part of the plan!”

Shin hummed, nodding.

ikumi smiled knowingly. “See? I knew I raised you well, you’re all my children after all.” 

“Like the hair and the eyes weren’t enough.” Mei said, looking up at her mother smartly.

Ikumi hesitated.

“Well, I dunno, I haven’t seen Shin’s eyes since he was five, so for all I know they’ve changed colors by now.” Ikumi teased her middle son.

Shin shrugged. “Guess you’ll never know.”

Their mother snapped her fingers and Mei laughed. 

“See, Mori! We’d be happy to have someone else in our little world, just make sure he’s worth it first, ok?” She threw her arms around her little brother and pecked a kiss against his cheek.

Morisuke squirmed, but then he got an uncomfortable face. His nostrils twitched.

“Ahhh...ahhh...”

Mei stared at him in confusion. “What’s wrong?” 

_“AH-CHOO!”_

She jumped backwards and rapidly stood up out of her chair.

“Ugh! I forgot you were sick!” She groaned, wiping her palms against his lips in disgust as Shin began scooting his stool at an elevated pace away from Morisuke. 

Their mother laughed again. 

“It’s fine, it’s fine, my soup is almost done!” She turned back around as took up the spoon again, stirring the pot once more.

Shin leaned forward to get a better look at the different bottles of ingredients on the counter next to the stove.

“Mom?”

“Yes, Shin, darling?”

“What’s in that soup, exactly?”

“Well, it’s tomato soup with salt, pepper, and a little bit of goat cheese! I had it once in the southeast when I visited the U.S! It’s delicious, trust me!”

Shin winced. “Mom...that’s not pepper.”

Her head popped up and she took up the shaker, squinting at the tiny letters.

“Mei, sweetie, get me my cheaters.” She waved.

Mei darted off and returned with the hideous thick red dollar store glasses their mother always carried.

“I swear, getting older is no fun, I can see just fine but when you put words right in front of my face I can’t for the life of me...oh.”

Shin dropped his head down to the countertop, his forehead smacking lightly on the granite.

“We’re going hungry tonight.” He declared.

“What is it?” Morisuke asked through another tissue.

“It’s...ground gremlin horns.” 

Mei made a disgusted face. “How did you mistake that for pepper!?”

“They’re both ground up black flakes, it’s not difficult!” 

“Should that stuff even _be_ in the kitchen? Isn’t it poisonous?”

“No, no, it’s not _that_ bad...” 

“Mom!” Morisuke laughed against the irritation.

“Fine, fine! All of you go entertain yourselves, another batch will take me fifteen minutes or so!” 

They all stared at her in disappointment.

“GET!” 

With several spoons being thrown after them, they all fled the kitchen in a frantic rush bouncing and shoving off each other.

Before they split up, however, Morisuke felt a barely there pat on the shoulder from Shinnosuke.

“Do what you think is right, but take your time. Maybe not as much as I do, though.” He said strongly, albeit not loudly, with a tint of humor to his voice.

Morisuke felt his heartbeat speed up at the thought of giving Lev the ring. 

“Yeah...thanks...” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at Shinnosuke being a good big bro! It's gonna be so much fun the next few chapters because, if you've been wondering what this 'underground' place they keep bringing up is, we're about to find out!!! :D And the character list will expand after that one!!! Yay! Any guesses on what the Underground is? No? Yes? Let me know!  
> Also just worth a mention I put a lot of my own Mom in Ikumi, like how she's always saying 'dear, darling, honey' and stuff like that? Also my Mom has a pair of hideous red reading glasses she bought at the dollar store and calls them cheaters. Overtime she needs them she always complains about how she can see fine until the words are right in front of her face too XD  
> Sorry, I'm rambling!  
> Please drop a comment, they help Ikumi recover the eyesight of her youth, leave some kudos if you've never been here before, and thanks so much for reading!


	10. Going Underground

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW EXCITED I HAVE BEEN FOR THIS CHAPTER  
> THE UNDERGROUND HAS A HUGE ROLE IN HOW MY IDEA FOR HOW NECROMANCERS ACTUALLY MAKE MONEY AND HAVE SOMEWHAT HAPPY EXISTENCES YEEEEES I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE WHAT EVERYONE THINKS!  
> Please enjoy~

Another week rolled by, Morisuke recovered from his cold, and things resumed as usual. 

He walked home with Lev everyday, just as before, except today, things were different.

Today was, for Morisuke at least, the very best day of the month. 

“Sorry, can’t chat today, gotta get home!” Morisuke dodged around Lev at the gate and raced up the sidewalk.

“Hey! Where are you off too?” Lev called after him, running behind.

Morisuke shot a smile over his shoulder. “My family’s headed to this months huge market, and I don’t want to make them late!”

Lev frowned. “I thought they just got back from one?”

Morisuke hummed. “Except this one is the best of the month! See you next week!”

The market.

_Well, it’s not a total lie._

Morisuke thought, buzzing with excitement.

The underground did have a market, but that was only the start.

Ever since the very first time he’d been allowed to wander free from his mothers arms in the underground, he’d looked forward to it every single month.

The thunderstorm lie, about why no one was home, had been a bit trickier.

Shin and Mei had actually been out hunting, and, while the two of them could go to the underground by themselves, it was difficult to secure passage there, so they too only went on this one day every month. 

However, since his fifteen birthday Morisuke had been allowed to roam free in the underground as long as he had a buddy, and every month he’d taken advantage of the fact.

Also the fact that Kenma would always accompany them, which made the trip even better since it gave Morisuke the check mark next to the ‘buddy’ requirement of his mothers rules.

He arrived back at the house with all due speed only to nearly crash into Mei, who was rushing down the staircase.

She was already dressed.

Her black hood had dozens of patches sewn into it, not unlike her coat. Morisuke could remember their mother wailing her out for it, the whole point of the hood was the make you blend with the crowd incase of an emergency. It also was suppose to amplify your ability to sync with other necromancers, in the instance that a large spell had to be performed with no forewarning. That was the reason the underground had a dress code in the first place. 

Black, red, purple.

The hoods had to be black, as for the rest of your clothes?

Pick one, keep it more towards the formal side.

Necromancers took great pride in their work, and as such when they all met up to sell or buy or trade their goods, as well as trade their stories, they dressed to impress.

Hence the way the dress code had come about. It wasn’t a requirement, as a matter of fact Morisuke had actually worn jeans and a tee shirt under his hood before. However, it made one appear to the other necromancers of the world that you didn’t care for your trade if you showed up dressed so sloppily.  

By necromancers of the world, that is meant very literally. 

All necromancers, from all walks of life, no matter the nation, the race, the distance, they could come there. Morisuke had seen an African witch doctor chatting with a chinese potion maker, accompanied by a Scandinavian big creature hunter walking down the crowded, twisted streets there before. It was a beautiful place, shrouded in darkness and hidden from the rest of the world in a way none could truly conceptionally grasp.

“Mori! Hurry up and get dressed, get your stuff too! Our ride will be here any minute!” Mei shouted to him as she darted around him to collect the things she wanted to take with her to trade and sell in the market. She had a black dress with a slightly ruffled skirt and a red lace on the sweetheart neckline under her good.

Shin came running down right behind her, wearing a purple dress shirt with his black tie half on. His quiver bounced at his side, against his thigh clad with black slacks. 

“Go change!” Even Shin was insistent they get a move on.

Morisuke pounded up the stairs and into his bedroom, slinging hangers in his closet to pull free his own hooded cape. 

The hood itself was pointed at the back, almost like the reapers hood, while the cape itself had sleeves and a thin black ribbon to tie it on. 

He tossed it to his bed and stripped several more hangers of a red dress shirt, black button up V neck vest, and black slacks not unlike his brothers. 

He dressed in nanoseconds and surfed his way down the banister with boots in hand. 

“MORI YOU WILL KILL YOURSELF ONE DAY!” Mei shrieked as him when he flipped, cape billowing, off the end of the banister.

“Yeah, but not today!” He replied as he ran into the dining room that housed all of their stored up treasures for today. 

He snatched up his messenger bag and started hurriedly shoving all of the rewards from this past month inside. He could reorganize it when they got there. 

The doorbell rang.

Satori ran to get it, flinging it open and dragging the still hoodie and jeans wearing Kenma inside.

“Go go go!” He hurried the poor boy, who hadn’t even gotten out a word of greeting, into the first floor bathroom. The pudding head was hugging a drawstring bag to his chest that contained his own underground attire. 

While Kenma was presumably changing, Ikumi came rushing through with Wakatoshi right behind her. The demon had three massive trunks of goods stacked in his arms and didn’t appear to be struggling with carrying them at all.

“Waka, take those outside so you can load them up when our ride gets here, thank you dear! Satori help him, will you?” Ikumi ordered to the two of them.

“On it!” Satori bent and easily hefted two more massive trunks from the dining room before headed for the back door.

“Is Kenma here yet?” Ikumi asked, looking frantic.

“How are we always in a rush every month!?” Mei demanded, then she looked to her mother.

“Mom, you’re still in your pjs!” She shouted.

Ikumi jumped, because sure enough she’d been so worried about getting everyone else ready she’d forgotten out herself. 

“BE RIGHT BACK!” 

She wailed as she went running up the stairs, the sounds of her footsteps reverberating through the house. 

The bathroom door clicked open and Kenma came out, hopping on one foot while dragging his remaining black ankle boot on. 

His dress shirt was a short sleeved black with a red tie tucked into his matching mellow red vest. 

“Kenma! You can’t go with your hair like that!” 

Mei reprimanded, because sure enough, the boys hair was still an absolute mess.

Her hair, on the other hand, was in a perfectly executed side braid with several purposefully placed wisps framing her face. 

Shin had actually tied his shoulder length hair into a ponytail, and appeared to have put some effort into brushing it back, so that was something. 

You still couldn’t see his eyes, though.

_I get the feeling he likes to keep it that way._

Morisuke though as Mei sat Kenma down on one of the trunks left to be loaded and produced a hairbrush and other accessories from out of nowhere.

Kenma looked extremely unhappy with this situation, but his expression only did more to further his usual grumpy cat face. 

 “Come on, this is gonna be fun Kitten, stop pouting!”

_There they are._

Morisuke had been wondering where his ghost gang had gotten too.

Here came the four of them now, Suga happily chatting with Keiji, and Tooru and Tetsu full swing on making their breathing friends lives difficult. 

Kenma lifted his head to say something back to Kuroo only for Mei to plant a hand on his head and turn it back down.

“Don’t move!” She ordered as she ran the comb through the silky amount of bottle blonde hair.

Kuroo cackled at how Kenma glared up at him without actually lifting his head.

“You’ll be the belle of the ball, Ken-chan!” Tooru pressed.

Morisuke shooed them off. “Leave him alone, he’s already gotta deal with my sister playing with his hair!”

Meanwhile, the mother Yaku came flying down the banister on the slippy soles of her pantyhose wearing feet.

“Mom! Stop setting a bad example!” Mei shouted at her as she flipped off the end of the staircase, beginning to pull her extremely high heeled boots on the instant she landed.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures, sweetheart!” Ikumi replied as she snatched the comb from Mei, who was finished with it anyway, and began to run it through her tight bob of auburn hair, smoothing down any fly aways.

She had a dark scarlet dress that went down to mid thigh on, with a low cut neckline to show the black tank she was wearing beneath it. 

Kenma scowled.

“How bad is it?” He directed with at Mori.

The older looked him over.

His hair had been pulled back into a small ponytail at the nape of his neck, with two bobby pins making an X shape on the right side of his head, holding the curve of his bangs perfectly into place.

Morisuke gave him a thumbs up.

“Lady killer, right there.”

Kenma groaned. “She _knows_ I don’t _want_ to be a lady killer, though!” 

Morisuke laughed. “Sorry, sorry, uh...pretty boy killer. Better?”

Kenma shrugged. “It’ll do.”

Satori came running around the corner, he snatched up the last trunk, which still had one Kozume Kenma sitting on top of it, and shouting.

“Your ride is here!” Before making for the door.

Kenma just sat cross legged on top of the trunk, looking beyond done.

Tooru and Tetsurou were in hysterics.

“Kitten! My Kitten is stuck in a tree, someone help him!” Kuroo shouted as Tooru just kept laughing, unable to control himself.

Satori set the trunk down on the back of their ride and turned to look a the two of them.

“What’s so...funny.”

He met eyes with Kenma, gold boring into him with clear murderous intent.

“Oh. Make sense now.” He said before he picked Kenma up by the back of the hood and set him on the ground.

“There you go!” He chirped before he retreated back over to Wakatoshi.

Kuroo was doing backflips he was laughing so hard.

Morisuke rolled his eyes as Ikumi came barreling out of the house with Mei in tow.

“Everyone on!”

The ride in question, if you were wondering, was one of the few creatures capable of breaking the barrier that separated the so called ‘underground’ from the rest of the world.

A dragon.

With a saddle that was complete with theater style seats, seat belts, and a trunk for all the valuables.

The dragon itself had a massive wingspan, it was a mottled gray color with flecks of blue among it’s scaly skin. 

It had large icy blue eyes and huge gnarled horns emerging from it’s scalp, to either side of it’s snake like head. 

It was pawing at the ground anxiously with it’s front two legs, having sat back on it’s back legs not unlike a cat would. 

“Hurry up, we’re almost running late for the portal as it is! Do you want to have to wait for the next lift?” 

“No, no, we’re coming! Stop being such a stick on the mud, Jacob, we do this every month!” 

Ikumi insisted as she hiked up his dress and swung over into the saddle.

Morisuke gave Kenma a leg up and then grabbed his friends offered hand.

He was hoisted up onto the massively broad back of the dragon. 

The dragon itself was at least thirty feet from nose to tail, and it’s saddle was about ten feet from side to side, enough room for rows of four seats from edge to edge.

“I see you’re running late as usual, Kenma-san, Yaku-san.” Came a snarky voice just now.

“Tsukki, don’t be rude!” The follow up chided.

Here was the thing, Morisuke did have other friends, he just didn’t count them as ‘friends’ because he’d never once seen them outside of the confines of their necromancer society.

These two, high school first years Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, were an example of this.

Yaku saw Kenma’s face flush slightly.

“S-Sorry...” He mumbled as he tried to be as inconspicuous as possible as he took the seat next to Tadashi. He slid his arms into the two straps to either side and fastened the two buckles, one over his waist, the other across his chest. He pulled the straps tight to pin himself back against the seat, well aware of just what type of ride he was in for.

Tooru swept over, and no doubt he would have been a relentless tease over Kenma's shyness towards Tadashi, if not for the fact that, unlike with their human friends, who were few and far between, Tsukki and Tadashi could see ghosts just fine. 

“Hey, there you are, Oikawa-san, has your turtleneck come back in style yet?” Kei shot off.

“I don’t know, Kei-chan, has your vision miraculously improved yet so you can get rid of those god awful glasses?” Oikawa replied with a withering sense of sweetness, though an angry tick had appeared on his forehead.

Morisuke rolled his eyes as he took the remaining seat on the edge of the saddle, fastening his seat belt

“Everyone on?” The dragon driver called back.

A cacophony of ‘yeah’ and ‘yes’ filled the air.

“See you guys on Sunday!” Satori shouted from the ground, waving.

Kuroo and Tooru backed away from the dragon.

“We’ll meet you there!” Koushi called, waving the all to odd duo of samurai and yakuza member over to him, where he was hovering with Keiji and Shouyou.

“Alright, c’mon old girl.” Jacob patted the dragon on the side, and the reptile shook itself to life.

Yaku tightened his grasp on the edge of the saddle, which came up to just past his waist.

This was the least fun part of the trip to the underground.

"Let's go, Guila!" The driver shouted.

Take off.

The dragon unfurled her massive wingspan and stomped a few feet to the left.

The working of her shoulder blades could be felt even under the saddle as she took one sweep, two sweeps, three...

They were flying. 

“WAAA HOOO!” He heard his sister yelling from somewhere in front as the wind tore into his face and the hood of his cape shuddered under the abuse. He clenched his eyes tight shut and clutched at the straps of that were pulled tight over his shoulders to keep him from hurtling out of the saddle and falling to his death.

At long last, they leveled off, and while Tadashi looked like he’d just gone through a wind tunnel, Tsukishima didn’t seem bothered at all. 

He merely adjusted the purple tie that complimented his crisp black dress shirt and pushed his glasses up from where they’d slid down ever so slightly.

“So, how are you two been faring? Anything worth mentioning happen since last month?” He started off.

Yamaguchi ran his fingers through his hair, trying to smooth it down. “Yeah, anything exciting?” 

Kenma shrugged. 

Morisuke mimicked him. “School, possessions, school, hunting. I did have to crawl through a thicket to find a teddy bear for this little girl.”

Kenma hummed. “I just had to find a cat skull.”

Yamaguchi shuddered. “Ew, what for?”

“When the old lady I was helping touched it, it turned into her ghost cat and then she was able to move on.”

Tsukki clicked his tongue. “You all and your ghosts, why not get into spell casting? It’s so much easier on the body.”

Tadashi smacked his best friend lightly on the arm. “Like you haven’t done your fair share of possessions, Tsukki.”

Kei rolled his eyes. “Sure I have, everyones done at least one or two, but seriously! Spell casting and potion making is so much more tame, but I do admit I do quite a bit of hunting on the side.”

Tadashi grinned. “Yeah, just last week we took down a naberius just the two of us!”

Yaku clapped his hands. “Wow, that’s pretty good, naberius are rough.”

Kei shrugged. “It wasn’t that bad, we had a plan and we executed. No big deal.” 

Morisuke frowned. “You really need to learn to admit when you have trouble, you know.”

The blonde gave a single bark of laughter.

“I’ll admit it when I have it, but until then you’ll have to put up with my insufferable attitude, huh, Yaku-san?”

Morisuke rolled his eyes, looking to the side and gazing out over the clouds and the dots of lights that made up the land far below them.

“Guess so.”

They sailed along at this height for about half an hour, chatting about this and that, before the driver lifted his staff from the frame it was resting on within the saddle.

Kenma sank down lower in his seat and Tadashi looked to him worriedly.

“I know you hate this part, Kenma-san. It’ll be over really fast, ok?”

Kenma gulped and nodded.

Morisuke put a hand on his friends elbow.

“Hang in there.” He warned as the driver pointed the knot at the end of his staff forward and closed his eyes.

A few moments of silence, before five purple flares lit on the end of the stick and spiraled ahead of the dragon. 

They shot across the sky, spinning and dancing in a beautiful display that put fireworks to shame. 

At long last, they stilled, and left in their wake was a massive, intricate magic circle, a pentagram etched in the middle.

The dragon reared back to hover mid air and all of them slid back in their seats, the saddle now tilted about thirty degrees backwards.

Mei was giggling from somewhere up front and Morisuke could see Shin’s beanie disappear from sight. His older brother had probably taken it off in order to assure he wouldn’t lose it in what was able to come. 

Now, earlier it was said that take off was the worst part of the flight, and too Morisuke, it was. However, for Kenma, who wasn’t a fan of rollercoaster rides, the upcoming passage from the material plane to the space in between where the necromancers had constructed a place of their own was the most horrible.

The necromancer swept his staff across in a straight line and the pentagram split down the middle with a sound louder than any thunderclap.

Everyone missed the way Morisuke winced.

The circle swung inward, revealing a vortex that offered entrance to the place few were permitted to go.

The dragon dove right in.

The next few minutes were filled with barrel rolls, screams of both terror and delight, arms being thrown in the air, hands being grab, the saddle edge being abused by the bodies of the necromancers inside being tossed about as far as their seat belts would allow.

Then, just like that, in a split instant, after a good seven minutes of this chaotic rollercoaster ride, it all stopped.

The dragon was now coasting comfortably about two hundred feet off the ground, looking none the worse for wear, and was now coming in for a landing in a large meadow with risen demons, werewolves, and fellow necromancers alike all waiting to help unload the goods for market.

Kenma, meanwhile, was trembling and clinging to Tadashi’s arm like it was his only lifeline.

Yamaguchi didn’t seem to be in any hurry to get him off either.

Morisuke wasn’t one to pair up his few friends, that was up Tooru’s alley, but even he could see it. 

Looking up the aisle, he and Tsukki shared and look, and Kei mouthed to him.

_They are so in love._

Morisuke breathed a laugh and nodded.

The dragon went up and down a few times, searching for a satisfactory landing spot. It finally selected one and came down with a few shuddering steps on the grass. Without wasting a second Mei, Shin, and Ikumi were out of the saddle to tell the helpers already running up what to take out and where to put it. 

Kenma, meanwhile, still had his face buried in Tadashi’s shoulder.

He seemed to finally pull himself free of the paralyzing fear that had overcome him, and lifted his head just a fraction.

Yaku tapped him on the back, and Kenma pulled his head up all the way. His previously clean, neatly pulled back, pinned up bangs were askew and the bobby pins were only hanging in there by a few hairs.

The gamer than realized he was clinging to the first year he didn’t even know outside of necromancy and pulled himself away as if it burned him.

“S-Sorry!” He cried out.

Yamaguchi smiled softly. “No problem, are you ok? Your hair is all messed up.” 

Before anyone could stop, or he got an ok, Tadashi reached over, brushed Kenma’s bangs back, and reaffixed the pins as they had been before. 

“There, all better!” Tadashi exclaimed before he turned to look at Kei, who was tugging on his sleeve.

“See you guys at the market!” Yamaguchi waved to them before unbuckling his seat belt and hopping over the edge of the saddle, dropping to the ground and jogging after his best friend.

Kenma’s face was a bright pink and Morisuke sniggered.

“And you call me the pining one, at least I’ve only been at it a few months.” He laughed as they, too, disembarked from the saddle, calling thanks for the ride to Jacob the dragon driver.

“Last flight is of the weekend Sunday at 9:30 PM! If you’re late you’ll stay until Monday!” The man shouted after them.

“Yeah, yeah!” Ikumi hollered.

Morisuke rolled his eyes.

_We’ll make it by 10...maybe. But he won’t take off without us, we’re the only people who take that flight, other than Yamaguchi and Tsukishima. It’d be a waste of Guila’s energy._

Guila, the dragons name, was being led to the stable to rest for her next flight. Meanwhile, Morisuke hefted his bag, snapped his fingers in front of Kenma’s face to snap his friend out of watching Tadashi’s cowlick bobbing away in the crowd, and headed in.

The underground.

Pretty stupid name, really, it wasn’t even underground to begin with.

Or above ground.

It wasn’t anywhere, honestly.

It was just.

_Here._

Morisuke thought on this fondly. Honestly, he still didn’t quite understand how the underground worked.

It was a rolling plain of crowded streets lined with crowded buildings and crowded stalls with pentagrams and magic circles and paints and chalk and drawings on every available surface. Ghosts were everywhere, dozens upon dozens of them, shooting in and out of walls, babbling to each other, shouting and flipping and yelling and spinning. Flying right over the heads of the literal hundreds of necromancers that were swarming the streets, shoulder to shoulder.

It was madness. 

Magical, dark, haunted, cursed, black hooded magic. 

Seizing Kenma by the hand, Mori dove right in.

The seas of black garbs folks swayed like a tide, all of them dressed up in finery from their many cultures all swapped together, ebbing and flowing in and out of stalls and shops. Everything had a dark coat of paint to it, further glorifying the beauty of the glittering wares of the possessors.

The furs and horns of the hunters, polished and beaten to perfection, hung on racks of griffin talons. The buildings were teetering, thin and tall, casting shadows onto the small, winding streets. The windows were mismatched and every railing and balcony held threads of spell beads, jangling in the otherworldly wind. 

Every brick seemed to be painted or carved with intricate symbols that glowed and shifted, making the whole of the place seem to be alive and breathing, like a great monster rolling in it’s slumber. 

Morisuke broke into the square just in time for a gasp of awe to echo out and applause to shatter the already nonexistent silence, raising the noise an octave louder. 

A young girl pointed her sword in the air, silky black hair hanging to either side of her face, and the scarves on the sword started burning, but never did the purple flames touch her hand. 

The circle she’d drawn with chalk onto the town center spiraled upwards and in an explosion of black raven feathers erupted upwards. The wind blew back her hood and caused her black pleated skirt to attempt a rise. She was wearing black stockings under it, and her shirt was a plain white long sleeve dress shirt with a black ribbon tie. 

Her hood blew back and her hair followed suit. Morisuke and Kenma elbowed their way to the front in order to keep a good look at what had been summoned.

A giant crow stood in the center of the circle, preening one of it’s wings before letting out an earsplitting screech and taking off into the sky with anther burst of wind.

The girl let out a breathless laugh and pointed at the bird with her sword.

Another explosion of feathers that disintegrated as they rained to earth, and the single massive crow was now hundreds of regular sized ones.

Flicking her sword again, the girl pointed to the circle, and all the ravens dove as one.

They slammed into the circle with enough force to make the ground shake and the buildings sway. More feathers flew up into the sky, jet black and spinning softly, slowly.

The circle stopped spinning and faded into dull chalk once more from it’s vibrant purple color.

The crowd erupted into applause once more, Morisuke and Kenma joining in as the girl bowed, sheathed her sword, collected her spell scrolls hurriedly, hugging the small basket of the parchment against her chest, and hurried away from the spotlight quick as she could.

Kenma pointed after her.

“Want to say hi?” He asked. 

“Why not?” Morisuke replied, and they gave chase.

“Shimizu! Hey, Shimizu! Wait up!” He called out, and the girl who had performed the spell spun around, her pink framed glasses slid down the bridge of her nose.

“Oh, Yaku, it’s just you.”

Morisuke raised an eyebrow. 

“I am offended! Just me?” He exclaimed, sticking his nose up.

Kiyoko giggled and Kenma stepped up. 

“That was a great show.” He said.

Kiyoko smiled and nodded. “Thank you, I’ve been practicing all month just for this.”

“KIYOKO-SAN!” 

The girl winced and Yaku sighed. “Here comes the fanboy duo.”

He commented as two suit and hood donning boys came leaping from the ground.

Tanaka let out an excited cry at the sight of Shimizu.

“That was so amazing, Kiyoko-san!” He exclaimed, hearts in his eyes.

Noya was practically vibrating, tie swinging, improperly knotted, from his neck. “Yeah, yeah! So amazing! And you’re so beautiful when you take your spells so seriously!” He exclaimed.

Shimizu pulled her hood back over her head.

“T-Thank you...” She mumbled, uncomfortable with the praise. 

Kenma frowned at the two of them.

“You’ve got zero chance.” He said pointedly. 

Tanaka nearly collapsed but Noya caught him.

“What is that supposed to mean, Kenma-san!?” Noya shouted as Tanaka faked choking. 

Morisuke patted Kenma on the back. “Just let them hope, there’s no harm to it. Besides, we all know at least Noya isn’t actually here for a date.”

Yuu winked. “Nah, I’d protect Kiyoko-san with my life, but I’ve got my eyes on a different type.”

Kenma scoffed. “Asahi-san would literally have a heart attack if you asked him out.”

“KENMA-SAN STOP CRUSHING OUR DREAMS!” Tanaka shouted, this time he was the one holding Noya who was faking passing out.

Kiyoko shook her head softly before she stepped forward. "Noya, come here a second."

She pulled him over, titled his head back, and pulled loose the knot of his tie. 

"When are you going to learn how to tie it properly? I don't want to make you look like a child but you can't be going around with it hanging down like a scarf." She mumbled, sounding a touch irritated as she pushed the knot up into the collar of his shirt, now perfectly done.

Yuu, meanwhile, was flushed red and stuttered.

"U-U-Uh...I-I'll do it right next time...swear it!" He squeaked.

"No he won't." Kenma whispered behind his hand to Yaku, who gave a strong nod.

"Definitely not. He'll do it even worse, hoping she'll fix it for him again."

Tanaka was now not so subtlety undoing the knot of his tie and messing it up, but Kiyoko had already straightened up, and was fidgeting with her basket of casting scrolls.

“Huh. Looks like the gangs all here.” Came a voice from behind.

“Oh boy, the sarcasm squad has arrived.” Tanaka snapped, looking over his shoulder at Kei, who was backed up by, who doubted it, Tadashi.

Shimizu shook her head softly. “If we intend on catching up with each other, we should probably get out of the street.”

Sure enough, the flow of people around them had them all crowded into a tight huddle, although that wasn’t uncommon.

Tadashi waved his hand. “Let’s head back to the square, Yachi-chan is up next!”

“Oh, yes, yes, let’s! Can’t miss her!” Shimizu took the lead a little bit too eagerly, mary jane flats clicking off the uneven cobblestones.

All the boys watched her go for a second before Kenma dropped his gaze back to the minute spell book he’d pulled from nowhere, since technology didn’t work in the underground, and elbowed Tanaka in the side.

“See? No chance.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are those side ships and friends we've been looking for! I felt bad making Mori entirely friendless so here we are with his little necromancer squad instead! Yeah, Tadashi is pretty OOC, at least here, tho I promise you I just envision that he's gotten used to Kenma being around, since they've known each other so long in this universe. I'll be sure to make him awkward and anxious very very very soon.  
> Tsukki seems on point to me though. :D Anywho, PLEASE drop a comment down below! They help Tanaka get over Kiyoko XD, and I'll try to be back soon as I can with a new update! Also thanks so much to the readers who offered to do art for this story, it means the world to me and I can't wait to see anything you have, but no rush! :D  
> Thanks so much for reading!!!


	11. Disaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really short compared to the last chapter, but I wanted this whole event to happen in it's own chapter, so here ya go! Please enjoy!

**_Underground Central Square._ **

 

Hitoka took a deep breath.

_I can do this. I can do this!_

She swore to herself. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she really wished a few of her friends were there to wish her good luck.

Well, at least she had the ghosts from Yaku’s house, they’d all bumped into her in the square. 

“You can do it, Hitoka-chan! We’ll be watching from right here the whole time!” Suga encouraged.

Oikawa was giving a bright double thumbs up, Akaashi was offering the warmest smile he was capable of, Kuroo had his arms crossed and was nodding encouragingly, and Suga was practically vibrating with pride to see her about to go up on stage.

“You’ll be great, Hitoka-chan! I just know it!” He exclaimed, clapping his translucent hands together.

Yachi nodded before she shuffled out onto the platform.

“R-Right! Thank you guys!” She exclaimed to them before stepping out to the center of the platform.

Her hands were shaking as she hurried to begin her set up.

Hurried so quickly that she tripped over the skirt of the ankle long folds of her purple dress and fell flat on her face, wedge clad feet flying up behind her. The black ruffles at the bottom of her dress collapsed downward onto her feet. Her basket of spell scrolls fell in front of her, and the ribbon tied parchment rolls scattered everywhere.

Before they got to far however, a small bolt of orange lightning shot out, splitting off and striking each scroll. 

They turned right back and rolled to her again, hopping back into her basket, which she still hugged to her chest.

Blinking back the tears that had already begun to form, Hitoka looked to the side to see Noya giving her a finger gun from the edge of the platform, a small pentagram circling his pointer finger before he blew it out as if it were the barrel of a pistol.

Right behind him was the rest of her friends. 

Shimizu was there too. 

_Kiyoko-san is back!? She came back to see me!?_

Hitoka felt panic erupt, but steadied her gaze on Noya’s face for a moment.

The boy had a calm, confident smile on his face, eyes lit with belief in her.

_I can do this._

The confidence of Yuu’s gaze had her determined all over again.

She took out her scrolls and began carefully unrolling them and laying them out. Interest was beginning to garner, and several groups were stopping with intent on watching her performance. 

Once she’d laid out the scrolls in a circle around her, she stood shakily and set her basket off the side.

Swallowing, she put her hand out and in a flash of yellow her thin, perfectly straight staff came forth. It had a single golden ring at the top of it, and tied into the ring were a multitude of scarves. Other rings hung from ties on the staff, decorating the entire shaft. 

Hitoka’s hands were still shaking.

She raised her staff up and spun it in the air above her head. She almost fumbled it, and it flew up out of her grasp for half a second. Her heart leapt into her throat but, with jittery fingers, she managed to catch it.

The spells around her feet began to glow, and a murmur swept across the captivated crowd. The complex swirls and spins of the staff, including avoiding hitting her long billowing cape, slouched hood, or the skirt of her dress, this was turning into quite the impressive performance.

She slammed the bottom of the staff to the ground and all the scrolls around her burst into golden flame, the papers slowly disintegrating as she went.

Applause rang out as runes began to spin upwards, decorating the inky dark that hung over the entirety of the underground. Even a few of the stalls around the edges of the center had stopped their calling in order to pay attention to this little blonde.

Hitoka's heart was hammering so hard she feared it might break free of her chest and bounce away.

_Just three more times._

She swung it once about her entire figure.

_Once._

She nearly bit her tongue when her sweaty palms slipped on the wood, but with a slightly lunge forward, she saved it.

_Twice._

 

Yachi felt like a helicopter with how much her staff was spinning. The runes were dancing across the sky, spiraling up, back, up, back, following the pointing and dropping of the golden ring at the top of her staff.

_Just once more._

After a moments pause holding the staff up high, she dropped it down and swung it about her again.

The very tip of the golden ring got caught on the edge of her cloak.

She let out a shriek as the staff went flying towards the crowd, having escaped her already trembling grasp. 

Panicking, she took a step forward and began moving her fingers in an attempt at a banishment spell that would at least stop the staff from hitting anyone. 

Although this was accomplished, and her staff vanished into golden light, she also stepped on one of her scrolls and slipped backwards, falling hard on her rear and knocking her head off the raised platform.

The parchment pieces flew up into the air at the breeze caused from her tumble.

When they hit the ground, the spell went haywire.

Golden fire erupted into pillars straight up, and they struck the runes Hitoka had been weaving into position. 

In a great rumble, the golden light spiraled into massive rings of power.

This would have been a beautiful sight with Yachi standing with her staff to command the rings in the middle.

However, Hitoka was still sat on the ground, and her staff had been banished.

“Yachi-chan, your staff! Your staff!” Morisuke shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth in an attempt to snap the dazed girl out of it.

“S-Staff...? Oh! Oh, no!” Hitoka came back into awareness of the situation with this, and tears sprung into her eyes at the disaster that was happening before her.

The blonde attempted to summon the staff back to try and regain control, but when she did, the thing only bashed off one of the rings. She clung to it though, and managed not to let it go flying again.

As such, the rings only picked up in velocity, spinning faster and faster before two of them contacted with each other.

They both rang out a loud clanging sound and hurtled in opposite directions.

The entire crowd ducked as one as the rings slammed into the buildings on either side of the square, shattering against the bricks, thankfully without leaving any damage behind.

The squares buildings were ladened with protective magic, of course.

Yachi raised her staff in a bid to at least banish the rest of the rings and bring an end to this calamity of a performance, when another impact occurred, and her staff was struck hard across the stage. Scarves fluttered everywhere, bands and rings struck the floor, making the sound that someone had dropped some coinage or another. The golden ring at the top had been snapped clean of by the power of the whirling rings, the scarves and everything else tied onto it were lying scattered across the platform in a trail of debris. The shaft had been broken in half, which had sent all the bands and rings attached it to flying as well. 

A necromancers weapons were their _pride._

Major spell casting required a weapon, and the dark magic users took great pride in outfitting their weapon, or weapons, of choice with the spoils of their hunts and possessions. A necromancers very first weapon was often the single most sentimental, hard earned, valuable thing in their entire life.

Hitoka’s had just been destroyed by her own incompetence.  

The other rings had gone awry too, bouncing and spinning across the stage and off above the crowd.

The necromancers all gathered to watch this, of course, hadn’t had weapons at the ready, and as such none of them were actually casting to stop these rings.

That was when ashen brown strikes flew across the sky, shattering each of the golden hoops into dust.

Hitoka sat with her still burning scrolls around her, golden sand falling gently all around her from the destruction of the rings, and just like that a sweep of wind had snuffed them all out.

From the opposite side of the square, Asahi jumped up onto the stage and rushed up to the little blonde.

“Are you ok, Yachi-chan?” He asked, hood hanging down his back and casting knife in hand. 

 _He’d_ been the one spring into action to banish the rings and put out the fires. 

The girl sniffled softly, looking around at the gazes all staring at her in disappointment and ridicule before turning their backs.

Just like that Noya rushed onto the platform as well, hurrying forward and taking Hitoka by the hand. The ghosts were all around her all the sudden.

“Ya-chan, are you ok!?” Oikawa demanded, looking down to her.

“C’mon, let’s go! Let’s get out of here!”

Noya insisted, pulling her to her feet and helping her off the stage, Asahi right behind her.

Once they were offstage, Yachi was instantly surrounded by the others who were all looking to each other, searching for what to do.

A look of finality came across of the faces, and as one they took off towards the destination that they hadn’t even had to speak to come to the conclusion of.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! Poor Hitoka made a pretty big mess...but then, at least she has a ton of cool friends! :D This is gonna get interesting pretty soon, and I promise we'll get back to YakuLev after we have just a little more fun with Mori's friend group in the underground. Please drop a comment below, they help Hitoka stop crying ;-; leave kudos if you haven't been here before, and thanks so much for reading! :D


	12. Friends of circumstance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a bit of something that'll be a major conflict appear in this chapter! Just the idea of all the necromancers of the underground being known to each other only in certain circles really fascinated me, so I decided to bring that into the work a little more than was originally intended.  
> Also ice cream.  
> Please enjoy! :D

**_Twisted Treats_ **

 

 

The underground might have been an otherworldly cityscape on the edge of time and space, hovering somewhere between the material, spiritual, and heavenly plains, but it still had what every good market city needed to survive.

A sweets shop.

Which was where the group of friends had gathered around a tiny little corner table with cones and cups, chocolate bars and milkshakes, brownies and cupcakes, for close to an hour now, to comfort an absolutely devastated Hitoka. 

All of the ghosts were gathered right above them, Noya was struggling to cheer Hitoka up, and Morisuke was just rubbing the poor girl on the back in an attempt to help her not choke on her own tears.

“T-T-That was a t-t-train wreck! M-My f-first per-per-performance a-a-and...a-and...and my last!” She sputtered.

“Shh, don’t talk, don’t worry about it. Everyone makes mistakes.” Morisuke assured.

Kenma, who was eternally awkward in this type of situation, was sat opposite from Yachi, but he’d put his book away, so that meant he was taking the severity of this moment very seriously.

“B-But..m-my staff i-it’s...i-it’s go-gone! A-And I-I-I...I ha-hate doing p-performances a-anyway I-I m-mean I lo-love spell casting b-but...”

Morisuke hushed her again when she lost control of her voice with sobs once more.

Tadashi leaned over to Tsukishima.

“Tsukki, you’re smart, say something to make her feel better.” He hissed.

Kei glanced up from his half eaten ice cream cone with a withering look directed to his best friend.

“I specialize in potions and spell casting, not _friendship!_ ” He snapped back.

Hitoka let out another shuddering gasp before speaking again. “A-A-And...top it all off...Kiyoko-san was s-so humiliated of me that she left!”

“No, no, Kiyoko-san is right...” Tanaka looked around the table and his sentence died in his throat.

“Wait...where _is_ Kiyoko-san?”

Tadashi put his hand up and spoke. “We must have lost her between the platform at the town center and here.”

Kei hummed. “I guess she had something better to do.”

Hitoka let out a wail at that statement and buried her face against Morisuke’s chest, full blown sobbing all over again.

While Yaku threw his arms up in a panic before he patted the blonde on the back and whispered soothing words.

Everyone else around the table glared at Kei.

Tsukki had a blank yet guilty look on his face.

“That...probably was not the best thing to say, was it?” He asked after a moment.

“You think!?” Oikawa shouted from above before he put his hands to his chest.

“Poor Ya-chan is broken hearted right now, you gotta be delicate with this type of thing.”

Asahi sighed softly. “Maybe I shouldn’t have jumped in, if she’d solved it herself she’d probably feel better and...” He began, as usual trying to find a way to take the blame.

“No way, Asahi-san!” Noya exclaimed, bouncing from his seat next to the brown haired older boy.

“You did the right thing, none of us thought to jump in, but you saved her from accidentally hurting someone! You definitely did the right thing...I just wish I’d thought to jump in soon enough to save her staff...”

Morisuke looked around the table as he continued holding the still sobbing Hitoka against his chest.

“Hey, why not get out of the center for the rest of the day? My siblings are running the stand, anyone else?”

Tsukki shrugged. "Akiteru and my mom are on watch at ours. And Yamaguchi's Dad is off hunting in Europe for the weekend, so he's staying with us."

Yamaguchi hummed. "Yup!"

Kenma nodded in agreement and everyone else gave their vote of affirmation as well.

Morisuke pulled Hitoka away from his chest and smiled lightly to her. “Want to go to the cliffside? No ones ever there when the market is running.”

“Yeah! Let’s get out of the crowd for a little while, sound good Yachi-chan?” Noya encouraged.

Hitoka sat back and wiped at her cheek with the sleeve of her hood.

“Y-Yeah...sounds good...”

 

**_The Cliffside._ **

 

“Are you sure it was a good idea to leave her alone?” Kenma asked quietly.

Morisuke shrugged, kicking a stone off the edge of the cliff.

The sky was filled with stars and whirling, rippling waves and spirals of magic everywhere. Every necromancer who had ever lived in the world had cast a spell up into that sky, the inky black that was there eternally filled almost to burst with the spells and shapes created by so many. Morisuke was able to squint and see a small red crescent formed by four twinkling red spells. One of them was large and bombastic, it was in the middle, between a more reserved, gently spinning circular yet unstable spell, and a six pointed star that was spinning at a fixed rhythm all the time, steady and never broken. 

_The middle one is Mei...the circular one is Shin’s, and the six pointed one is mine. The one on the top is my Mom’s, she cast it up there almost thirty five years ago._

Morisuke thought.

Close to the crescent of his family, just a little off the side, there glowed a dim yet clearly visible golden orb, throbbing and spinning. That was the shape the spell Kenma had cast into the skies not to long ago had taken. It had appeared close by his families, thanks to how the spells always gravitated towards ones the caster loved.

_This is the best place to spell gaze..._

The cliffside was a famous part of the underground, it was literally the edge of the unknown.

The underground wasn’t really anywhere, or anyplace, at anytime. 

Therefore, standing at the very edge of all that ever was was a breathtaking view.

Morisuke had seen it a million times, and even still it took his breath away. The beauty was unmatched by anything on the material plane, that was for sure. 

Smaller pieces that had broken off the underground hung suspended by the magic that kept the underground itself together. Dragons roosted on these rocks, and ghosts spun and danced out amongst the spells. It seemed to go on forever, and the drop was endless into an abyss of swirling magical power that drifted like a sea beneath the chunk of land that had just come here for no real reason in particular. 

None that anyone knew of, that is.

“She needed some time to herself. You know she’s awful with stage fright, last time she had the platform booked she couldn’t even get up on stage.”

Noya chuckled. “Yeah, I remember that for sure. I jumped up there and took it from her so no one would know she’d abandoned the spot.”

Tsukishima looked down at the much shorter boy curiously. “Noya-san, you care an awful lot about a bunch of people you’ve never even _met_ in the real world.”

Nishinoya shrugged. “I guess so, but you guys are like family, we’ve all known each other since we were little kids! Every month, if not more, for years and years and years? It’s hard not to get at least a little attached.”

Morisuke yawned. “Do you think we’d even recognize each other out there?”

Kenma hesitated. “Probably...”

He screwed up his face just then. “...but I doubt it would actually connect in our heads until we saw each other here again.”

Tadashi grinned. “I dunno, I kind of want to meet you in the real world one day, Kenma-san! You seem like you’d be off in the city somewhere, reading or on your phone or something with your cute little ponytail and pins in your bangs.”

Kenma’s eyes blew open wide at the word ‘cute’ and he hid his face behind his book.

“T-Thanks...I guess...” He mumbled before falling silent.

Morisuke laughed. “My siblings and mom are hard to miss, but me? You could bump shoulders with me and I doubt you’d even realize I was there.”

Tsukishima frowned. “I remember one time your brother almost shot me when I snuck up on him on accident, he’s a quick draw for sure.”

Tanaka gave him a thumbs up. “Your sister really puts the eye in eye candy though!”

Morisuke was swift to kick him in the backs of the knees, causing him to stumble. “That’s my freaking sister! Also she’s twenty two, stay in your lane!”

Asahi put his hands up. “Now, now, we don’t need to be all up in arms about this. The chances of us all running into each other are incredibly slim unless we do it on purpose.”

Morisuke thought on it. “Yeah...I guess it would be.”

Tsukishima scoffed. "No reason to be organizing that. We're not real friends. How can we be, without having ever seen each other outside, under the sun?"

Tadashi rounded on him. "What? Oh come on, Tsukki, just because we're always under the spell stars when we're together doesn't mean we aren't real friends! Right guys?"

Noya threw his fist up. "Right! I've known you guys longer than I've known any of my friends from the outside!" 

Morisuke shrugged. "I don't _have_ any friends from the outside. Well...I have one. He doesn't count though."

_Thank god no one pressed me on that._

Morisuke thought as the bickering continued.

Asahi hesitated. "As much as I hate to say it, I can see where Tsukishima is coming from. Though I wouldn't call it not being 'real' friends. Just...different. We're all so alike, but out in the real world, who knows what we're all like, right?"

Tanaka put a thumb towards himself. "I'm such a hit with the babes, guys, you have no idea, my whole school it head over heels for me."

Yuu raised an eyebrow at him. "We're in the same class, and I've never once seen a girl talk to you without having too."

Ryuu threw his arms up. "Noya, you betrayed me!?" 

Asahi wilted. "Me and Kiyoko go to the same school, I know her really well because we share a few classes. Other than that..."

He hesitated as he looked at Noya before shaking his head. "Nothing." 

Yuu took a breath to insist on what Asahi was talking about, looking at him so pensively, but Tsukishima spoke and cut him off.

"We're more like friends of circumstance...I doubt we'd ever associate with each other if we didn't have the hoods on. No offense." 

"Y'know I'd love to say 'none taken' but..." Morisuke glared up at him. 

It was now that a figure came running out from the thin gathering of warped trees with strange colored leaves that separated the rolling hills of the cliffside from the equally hilly cityscape of the underground.

“Kiyoko-san, there you are!” Noya exclaimed happily.

“We were worried about you!” Tanaka cried out, putting a hand out in front of him.

Kiyoko ran right past him and up to Morisuke, hugging a long object to her chest, wrapped in her own hood.  
“Where are you been? You vanished on us for like three hours, it got Yachi-chan really upset.”

Kiyoko’s face fell at the mention before she got the excited look on her face again.

“Where is Hitoka-chan?” She asked, seeming eager to find the little blonde.

Morisuke jacked a thumb over his shoulder.

“Over on at the summoning platform on the last hill before the cliff.”

Kiyoko nodded. “Ok, thank you! I’ll see you all later!”

She then turned and ran for the hill.

The boys all stared after her.  
“What do you think she’s up too?” Kenma asked.

Morisuke bit his lower lip. “I dunno, she probably tried to find something to make Yachi-chan feel better and lost track of time.”

Tanaka bounced up behind the auburn haired necromancer just then.  
“Let’s follow her!” 

He then chased after the talented young lady who’d just vanished over the crest of the next hill.

Tsukishima sighed. “Guess we have nothing better to do.” He mumbled.

At this, they all went after him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! Please drop a comment down below, they help Tsukki get better at friendship, and leave a kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks so much for reading!


	13. Summoning Platform's start relationships.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL CHAPTER NAME ASIDE  
> I'm super excited for this just because I couldn't resist sliding a few side ships into this story, just to make it a little more interesting. So here's a little adorable KiyoYachi before we get back to the LevYaku everyone came here looking for! :D Please enjoy!

**_The Summoning Platform._ **

 

The large hexagonal shape on the ground of raised stones on the top of the hill had one of the most amazing spots to view the expanse of dark sky that surrounded the underground.

Hitoka was sat on the edge of the platform, toes dangling a few inches from the ground, and stared out at the cosmos before her.

_I’m a pure blooded necromancer...and this is all I can do?_

She sniffled, feeling horrible for the thought.

_People like Noya-san, Yaku-san, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi...they don’t have two seeing parents. Kenma-san doesn’t have any seeing relatives at all! Yet here I am, with all my family, all my cousins, aunts, uncles, Mom and Dad, being seers and necromancers, and I can’t do anything right! My spells always goof up, and I can’t do performance magic like Kiyoko-san or Tanka-san can...I’m better off just staying in the background...like some kind of Necromancer B._

She lifted her head when she heard someone come running up the hill behind her.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw Kiyoko there, hugging a long thin piece wrapped in her own black hood.

“K-Kiyoko-san?” She stuttered out.

“Hitoka-chan! Sorry I ran off, but I realized that your staff was still in the square so I went back for it!” Shimizu explained.

Hitoka’s eyes widened. “M-My...my staff.”

Her eyes got heavy and burnt with tears all over again.

“Y-Yeah it’s...it’s bad, isn’t it?”

Shimizu sat down next to her and spoke softly.

“It was snapped in half, the golden ring at the top had come off, and the scarves and spell rings were all scattered across the platform. I’m pretty sure I got them all though.”

Hitoka let out a soft whimper. “I spent my whole life making that staff...how could I just let it get broken so easily? I’ll never have anything else like it...it’s broken beyond repair it’s...I...” 

She buried her head in her hands, blonde hair drifting forward to hide her face.

“Hitoka-chan...” Shimizu whispered softly, putting a hand on the girls shoulder.

“T-Thanks for picking up the pieces...at least I have those...”

“Hitoka-chan, here, take it.”

The younger girl lifted her head, and a sharp gasp escaped her lips at the sight of her staff, just the way it had looked before the disaster on the performance platform, being carefully unwrapped from Kiyoko’s cloak.

“YOU FIXED IT!” Hitoka shrieked, her hands flying out the seize the worn wood that had been by her side for years now. 

She hugged the stick to her chest, golden ring at the top pressed against her cheek, and felt tears welling up again. The scarves hung from it in neatly tied knots. The rings and bans had all been reaffixed in the same order. You couldn’t even tell the wood had been damaged, much less broken clean in half.  
“B-But...it’s not normal wood it, it’s from the trees here. It can’t be repaired easily, it can’t cast anymore, even so...”

Shimizu put her finger up. 

“It can.” She said confidently.

Hitoka looked at Kiyoko with lips halfway parted. 

“It...it can?” She asked.

Shimizu gestured forward.

Hesitantly, Hitoka tapped the staff on the ground and just as it always had, the golden ring at the top glowed with yellow infused power.

Yachi squeaked in surprise, then she whipped her head to the side.  
“B-But how did you...?”

Kiyoko put a hand up, waving it nonchalantly. “Don’t worry about it.”

Hitoka leaned into the older girl, putting them near nose to nose.

“I _am_ worried about it! Only rare items or super expensive spell beads can repair broken casting weapons to their full abilities!” She exclaimed. 

Shimizu felt her cheeks dust pink at those beautiful brown eyes so close.

Not even thinking, she closed the distance and pecked Hitoka on the lips, relishing in the velvety softness.

Yachi blinked, not fully processing what had just happened, before her newly repaired staff fell to the lush grass with a soft _thunk_.

“What...was that?” Hitoka asked leaning back enough that Shimizu wasn’t leaning backwards.

Kiyoko hurriedly began tucking strands of hair behind her ears and getting to her feet.  
“N-Nothing! Silly! That was stupid, I’m so sorry Hitoka-chan I just...”  
Hitoka stood up in front of her and stood on her toes so they were face to face.

“It wasn’t stupid. It was...nice.” She whispered.

Kiyoko felt the smile rise on her face.

“It was?” 

They were both flushed rosy pink at the emotion of the moment. 

Then, with the beauty of the spell filled sky as a backdrop, Kiyoko pulled her in to do it all over again. 

Meanwhile, behind a bush not to far away, Morisuke and Noya were both using their full body weight to pin Tanaka to the ground and keep him quiet.

“Don’t you dare ruin this moment for them!” Yaku hissed, planting his shoulder into the space between the bald boy's shoulder blades to keep him down.

“Yeah, bro, we all get you like Kiyoko-san, but you always knew you didn’t have a chance with her, it’s not that bad!” Noya backed up, clinging to one of his arms.

Kenma was sitting on Tanaka’s legs, reading his book not looking even the slightest bit worried about the fact he was sitting on someone, while Asahi was watching the scene going on at the summoning platform with a fond face. Tsukishima was leaning against a nearby tree with Tadashi next to him, seeming at least halfway interested in this new development. 

“So...do they even know each other outside of the underground?” Tadashi asked once Tanaka had stopped his resistance and was now curled up in fetal position next to the bush.

Morisuke hesitated. “I’m guessing no, but then again, we’ve all known each other since we were little kids. A weekend out of every month might not sound like a lot, but it’s enough to fall in love, don’t you think?”

“Yup! Totally! One hundred percent!” Noya concurred with a none to subtle smile in Asahi’s direction.

The gentle giant was to oblivious to even see it.

Noya wilted but, as usual, he sprung right back up.

_Relentless little guy..._

Morisuke sighed as he checked his watch.

“We’d better head back, guys, all of us should be at the market for the closing hour at least.” Morisuke commented.

Tsukki looked out over the bushes to where the two girls were sat on the edge of the platform, Hitoka’s staff set behind them, right next to Shimizu’s sheathed sword. They had their fingers twined together and were so close that their shadows weren’t even separate anymore. 

“What about those two?” He asked.

Morisuke sat up onto his knees and gazed out at the two of them.

For a split instant, he wondered what it would be like to show a certain someone else this spot, to watch the awe fill those emerald green eyes, before he shook it away.

Meaningless fantasy.

He crossed out the image in his head with a bright red marker. 

“Leave them.”

He stood.

“They’re too in love to worry about their for sales today anyway.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all! I loved the idea of Kiyoko using a spell or a super expensive item to repair Yachi's staff, because to her money is no object when it comes to Hitoka's happiness. So cute! Well, there you go, I promise we'll be back on track with the main storyline now! I just really wanted to show off some aspects of the Underground, and the lore behind this little secret society of seer's. Thanks so much for reading! Please leave a comment, they help Asahi when all of his systems are nervous, and please drop a kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks for reading!


	14. Such a Contrast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're gonna hit a few big real world problems in this story...if anyone has any issues with how I put this type of thing, please let me know! I think I did it alright, but it's worth making sure! Please enjoy!

**_The real world._ **

 

As was expected, they barely made the last flight out of the underground, and while Yaku could have sworn he caught Kiyoko scribbling a phone number onto the inside of Hitoka’s palm and putting her finger to her lips with a smile, he wasn’t going to press about it just yet. 

Maybe next month.

Seeing as they made the 10 PM flight that left at around 10:30 thanks to the Yaku clan being late as usual, Morisuke was exhausted the next day. 

Lev was waiting at the school gates in the afternoon, only to find his upperclassman stumbling out with dark circles under his eyes.

“H-H-Hey.” Yaku stifled a yawn halfway through the word.

Lev smiled brightly and Morisuke pointedly ignored the way his heart started melting at the sight.

“Hey! Have a long weekend?” The silver haired boy asked.

Morisuke nodded. “Yeah, market was hectic, we got back at like midnight. With all the organizing we had to do, unpacking all the new wares, I didn’t get any sleep until like three.” 

Lev winced. “Wow, that sucks. Want a piggyback ride?” He was only half joking.

Morisuke rolled his eyes. “I _get_ it, I’m like half your size but two years older, no need to rub it in.”  He snapped irritably.

Lev put his hands up. “I was just kidding, Yaku-san.”

Morisuke put his hand over his mouth to hide another yawn before he spoke. “So anything interesting happen to you?”

Lev let out a happy gasp and clapped his hands.

“Yeah, yeah! We got a kitten!” He exclaimed, looking beyond happy.

Morisuke smiled. “Aw, that’s great. I know you really wanted a cat.”

Lev nodded multiple times, head bobbing.

“Yeah, I’m so happy! It took so so so long to convince my parents and we have to make sure she's super clean and clean up any mess she makes, but she's ours! She’s so cute, we named her Tora, she’s just the cutest thing every! We’ve had her for like two days and I already can’t remember how I spent any time at home without her to play with.”

“That’s nice, having a cat must be fun.” He said, and for the next few minutes he kept up the cat conversation just so he could continue watching the joyous look on the pale boys face, taking in the way those green eyes sparkled.

Just listening to his voice as he talked over such everyday things as how he loved his new kitten, or how his homework for the weekend had been hard, or how he almost tripped running to school because he was about to be late filled Morisuke with energy all over again. By the time they started nearing the where they would say goodbye for the day, Yaku found himself forgetting he was even tired in the first place.

As they were approaching the gates, Lev seemed like he got an idea all of the sudden.

“Hey, do you wanna come and meet Tora?”

Morisuke tilted his head to the side, uncertain. “Are you sure? Your parents would be cool with that?”

Lev nodded eagerly. “Oh yeah, they’d be fine, only my sister is home right now anyway.”

Morisuke shrugged. “Alright then, why not?”

_It means I get to spend a few more minutes with you, doesn’t it?_

Of course, Morisuke would never say that last part out loud.

They entered the complex and Morisuke turned his head this way and that, taking in the place Lev called home.

It was a fairly generic apartment building, as apartment buildings go. Painted an eye pleasing shade of dark beige with the occasional flyer board or metal piece to spruce up the walls from being too boring. 

They arrived at the elevator, and took it up to the top floor.

As they were riding up, Morisuke spoke. “So, what’s your sister like?”

Lev shrugged. “Alisa? She’s fun, we get along really well, always have. We almost never fight, and she’s actually really easy to talk to.”

Morisuke smiled fondly. “Man, maybe I should introduce her to Mei, and mine might learn a thing or two.”

Lev laughed as they arrived at the top floor and the doors opened with a robotic female voice ringing out the floor number. 

“Your sister seemed super nice, though! Kind crazy, but nice!”

Morisuke shoved his hands in his pants pockets.

“If I didn’t know better I’d say you forgot that the first time you met her she almost mowed you down with a shopping cart she’d kidnapped my older brother in.”  
Lev put his palms to the ceiling.

“All in good fun, right? At least she didn’t break anything.”

They laughed again.

At the door to the apartment, Lev fumbled with his keys for a moment before swinging the door open.

Morisuke looked to the number.

_716...Lev’s in apartment 716...I’ll remember that._

“Alisa! I’m home! And I brought a friend to meet Tora!”

A door from somewhere inside the apartment slammed and a girl with silver hair to match Lev’s came hurrying around the corner with a wide eyed white kitten on his shoulder.

“Lyovochka, hi! Who’d you bring?” 

Lev stepped to the side to reveal Morisuke standing behind him.

“This is Yaku Morisuke-san.” He introduced him.

“Nice to meet you, please pardon the intrusion.” Morisuke said, giving a short bow.

Alisa smiled just as bright as Lev could as she gently dropped the kitten to the hardwood floor.

“No problem! So you’re the famous Yaku-san, then? Lyovochka talks about you _all_ the time.” She sang the word. 

“He does, does he?” Morisuke crossed his arms and looked up at Lev, who flushed slightly and looked away.

“Alisa!” He groaned as he did this, hoping she wouldn’t go into detail about just _what_ he talked about.

She waved her hand. “Sorry, sorry, I’m just being an annoying big sister, anyway, you came to see Tora, didn’t you?”

Said kitten had just attempted to pounce on a yarn ball twice her size and promptly roll over it and land flat on her back, dazed with paws in the air.

“That is one adorable cat.” Morisuke said flatly as Lev cooed and crouched down next to her, rubbing her back.

Without even thinking, Yaku crouched a few feet away, just across from him, and snapped his fingers once.

Red sparks flew from his fingertips and the kitten turned her head towards him, prancing over at once.

Morisuke felt his heart stutter when he realized he’d accidentally used an easy spell to produce the light that had gotten the fur ball interested.

“Cats like you, huh, Yaku-san?” Lev asked as he sat back to sit indian style on the modern white carpet.

_Thank god he didn’t see the light..._

Morisuke sighed with relief.

Speaking of the carpet, though. 

As a matter of fact, the entire apartment was extremely modern. Pieces of slim, space saving furniture dotted the place, and all the picture frames on the wall were sharp edged and white bordered. 

All this white and metallic silver in this apartment that felt way to small for parents and two kids, it was a far cry from Morisuke’s three story home of pulled curtains, dark rooms, ornate old furniture of wood and glass and upholstered cloth. All this white was weirdly empty in comparison painted shades of purple, black and red, with peeling wallpaper along the uneven halls.

Lev seemed to notice Morisuke taking in the decor while also petting Tora, and he spoke, looking exasperated.

“My Dad really likes the whole modern home thing, and he’s constantly moving around and changing everything whenever he’s here. Mom doesn’t really care, she’s not home enough to pay it any attention. Then, Dad isn’t here very often either, but he’s here often enough to want everything to be exactly the way he left it.”

Morisuke got the feeling there was a disconnect between Lev and his parents, so he spoke up. “It looks really nice, very clean and pretty. My house is _huge_ and there’s not a single part of it that isn’t filled up.”

Lev nodded. “Yeah, when I walked you back after the thunderstorm...”

Morisuke decided to pretend he didn’t hear Alisa squeal ‘adorable’ under her breath from where she was taking way to much time making a snack in the kitchen.

“...your house seemed really big. It’s two stories right?”

Morisuke shook his head and put up three fingers.

“Nah, three. Plus an attic and a basement.” 

“Geez, that’s a lot! How do you keep it all clean?”

Morisuke laughed. “Clean? We sell antiques, dust is probably lining my lungs by now. All the old stuff cluttered around the dining room and the basement and the second floor and the attic. My Mom collects as well as sells, and my siblings and I can buy stuff at the markets if we want too. I don’t very often, but Mei loves to spend her earnings on expanding her collection.”

Lev hummed, and then, swallowing, he decided to take the risk.

He was just to curious to let it slide any longer, and they’d known each other long enough, at least, he prayed.

“What about your Dad, what does he do?”

Morisuke got this far away look on his face before he shrugged, looking a little forlorn. 

“Couldn’t tell you, I never met the guy.” He said with a little more humor than most would about such a subject.

Lev’s face fell and he spoke quickly. “Gah, sorry, that was dumb, you never mention him I should have figured he must have passed, I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Morisuke stood up just then, not before giving the kitten a scratch behind the ear so she wouldn’t think it was her fault.

She seemed satisfied, and trotted off towards her food bowl in the kitchen.

Alisa had now paused by the counter to watch what Morisuke would do.

What he did was walk towards the door.

He had a lost expression on, and it clearly had something to do with what Lev had just said.

“I think...I think I’m gonna head home, it was nice to meet you!” He faked a smile in Alisa’s direction, and she returned the gesture with a genuine one. Then, before Lev could even get his long legs in tandem enough to stand with an offer to walk him out, Morisuke had his shoes on, picked up his bag, and he was gone. 

Lev looked in Alisa’s direction hopelessly.

“I didn’t know, I swear!” He exclaimed at the sight of her judging expression.

Alisa sighed as she dropped the bag of potato chips she’d picked up onto the spotless granite counter.

“It’s ok, it was bound to happen sooner or later, just make certain you apologize first thing next time to see him, ok? It’s not strange for him to react that way...although...I get the feeling what you said after he told you he never met his father just made things worse.”

To this end, Lev couldn’t understand what she even meant, but she didn’t offer an explanation.

So, the green eyed boy simply went to his room, rehearsing an apology over and over as he went. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah...Mori's Dad wasn't some badass necromancer who died hunting vampires or something. This is almost worse, huh? I do plan on having Mori continue his nonchalant attitude toward it, but I promise this is not only going to come up again in the future of this story, but it is going to come up with much more of Mori's real feelings on the subject showing through. I like to have him as a character that acts confident and comfortable, accepting the facts of his life and being totally ok with them, to conceal the fact that he couldn't be any FURTHER from what his demeanor suggests.   
> Part of the fun with writing about a character who DOES NOT GET THE SCREEN TIME HE DESERVES AHHHHHH!!!!  
> ....  
> ^-^   
> K all done for now! Please leave a comment below, they help Tora catch her ball of yarn, and kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks so much for reading!


	15. Watching him go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...I sprained my wrist at my last tourney and it literally took me fifteen minutes to write that last sentence. ;-;   
> Lucky for you guys I have prewritten a bunch for this story so my wrist can rest and all I have to do is manage to write out the author notes! :D Yay! So, here we go, please enjoy!

 

**_The night._ **

 

“Morisuke-san, are you still upset about what Lev said?” Akaashi asked from where he hovered near the foot of his necromancer friends bed.

Morisuke lifted his head to look down at the ghost, who had been his only company on the trip into Lev’s house.

He tapped the end of his pen to his nose, for he had been scribbling away in his journal about all the excitement from the last three days. 

“A little bit.” He admitted.

“Not at him, though, I know he doesn’t mean anything by it, it’s just gotten me thinking a little too much. Aren’t we supposed to be magic or something? I shouldn’t have to worry to much about the real world, right?”

Akaashi sighed. “I’m afraid I can’t provide much insight, I haven’t been with you nearly as long as Tooru-san or Tetsu-san. However, I can say that perhaps speaking about the issue is better than brushing it under the rug.”

Yaku groaned. “You’re probably right, but even I don’t know what to say about it! I know exactly what happened to my Dad and why, I know why I never met him, and I know why I never will! That should be enough, right? It’s more than most kids who lose a parent get.”

Akaashi hesitated. “Forgive me for assuming, but your Father...he hasn’t passed, has he?”

Morisuke scoffed, spinning his pen on his thumb. “Hell if I know, like I said, I never met the guy. He was long gone way before I can remember.”

Keiji felt it necessary to press just a fraction more. “However, he didn’t leave before you were born?”

Morisuke snapped abruptly.

“Why do you care so much!?” He shouted at the ghost.

Akaashi flinched backwards and got an extremely hurt expression on his face.

Morisuke groaned and buried his head in his hands, journal sliding out of his lap and pen dropping to the duvet.

“No, no, no, I’m not supposed to yell at you. You’re on my team, I know that. Sorry, Keiji, it’s just...”

Keiji offered an awkward smile. “As Tooru-san would say...‘touchy subject’?”

Morisuke lifted his head, looking weary. “Yeah.”

“Then you don’t have to talk, not to me, at least, however, please don’t take it out on Lev. Make sure he knows you’re ok, that he didn’t hurt you, and you are not frustrated with him.”

Morisuke nodded.

_I’m frustrated with him in more ways than one, and none of them have anything to do with my Father._

Even so, he accepted Akaashi’s advice with grace.

“Thanks, Keiji.”

The 1950’s ghost smiled again. “We’re always here for you, Morisuke-san, if not physically, always emotionally, right at your back. Never forget that, ok?”

With this, he drifted off down through the floorboards.

Yaku flopped back into his pillows, pen rolling off the bed and across the black wood floor.

“I know, I know...I won’t.”

 

**_The next day._ **

 

Lev waited with nerves in a tight ball in his stomach at the school gates for Morisuke to make an appearance.

_What if he avoids me?_

The thought struck him.

_What if he takes the long way out the back gate and leaves me waiting here? What if he’s really hurt because of me bringing that up? What if he’s not gonna play volleyball with me anymore? What if he hates me?_

He felt a queasy at those thoughts.

_Yaku-san...you’re the one person I couldn’t bear to hate me._

His heartbeat was suddenly very defined, he could hear it in his ears with each passing second. 

“Something not processing up there, behemoth?”

Lev jumped a let out a very (read: manly) shriek when he turned his head to the side to see Morisuke having just spoken this. 

Sure enough, just like every day, the libero stood there with his hands in his pants pockets and his bag over his shoulder, ready to head home. 

The half Russian boy stuttered, his well rehearsed apology getting all jumbled within his head.

“I...uh...that...uh...sorry I...” He struggled.

Morisuke was quicker. “Sorry I walked out yesterday like that, it was really rude of me. Please let your sister know that, ok? I hope she’ll forgive me.”

Lev felt his soul just about leave his body.

“O-O-Oh...ok? But no!” 

Lev shook his head rapidly.

“I’m the one who should be sorry!” He exclaimed.

“I shouldn’t have brought that up, I knew you didn’t like talking about it but I let my curiosity get the better of me! Please forgive me, Yaku-san!” 

Lev gave a full on ninety degree bow.

Morisuke jumped back, hands already raised to his shoulders.

Lev had his head down and didn't see the way he'd shot a bitter glare over his shoulder at nothing but air.

“No, no, it’s fine. Really. I’m not upset, it just...it’s a bit of a touchy subject is all.” Morisuke assured.

Lev straightened back up. “So...good?

Morisuke laughed lightly at the hopeful expression on the younger students face.

“Yeah, we’re good.”

They were walking for a short while before Morisuke spoke. “So about my Dad...”

Lev instantly threw his hands up.

“Stop right there!” He exclaimed.

Morisuke actually stopped walking, looking up at him in bewilderment.

“You don’t need to tell me just because I said I was curious. I don’t want you to talk about something that makes you unhappy.”

Yaku pulled his hands from his pockets and tucked them behind his head as he started up on his pace again.

“Unhappy? I mean, yeah, I guess so, but it doesn’t hurt that bad. I just was a bit blindsided yesterday, and I didn’t know how to deal with it.” 

Morisuke leaned his hand back to look up at Lev. “It's no secret, and it's not taboo or anything in my house. I've always known the story. The gist of it is that my Mom and Dad never married, because my Mom’s family was against it. So when they found out my sister was on the way they ran away together. Wound up here. Big happy family and all that aside, they still didn’t get married, and after my brother, my Mom was actually starting to bring it up. Then I came along and my Dad finally figured it out.”

Morisuke blew a breath through his nose. “The Yaku family is _crazy._ No one who values their life or their social standing goes _anywhere_ near them, remember? It just took my Dad a while longer to figure it out. He didn’t leave until after I was born, and he left my Mom a small fortune, enough to completely buy and pay off our house, and then some. I don’t remember him, Mei can, only just barely. And that’s it.” 

Lev seemed shocked. Clearly, he hadn’t been expected his upperclassman and his two siblings to have been the result of a ill thought out romance and a run away bride-to-be who never actually got to be.

Then, the middle blocker seemed to get confused. “Isn’t your sister five years older, though? Wouldn’t that mean your parents were together for longer than that?”

Morisuke shrugged. “Mom doesn’t like to talk about it. But the thing is...”

He looked up into the blue sky above. “I’m not...mad at him for it. If I ever were to meet him, I’d probably have nothing bad to say about the guy.”

Lev’s jaw dropped. “B-B-But...he _left_ you all? How is that just ok?”

Morisuke ducked his head a bit and dropped his hands to go into his pockets once more. “My family is crazy. One hundred percent, certified crazy. My Dad, however, was completely sane. I can’t blame him for not wanting to live in an insane asylum for the rest of his life.”

Lev wanted to know more, the way Morisuke had explained this was so very open ended that he just couldn’t stand it.

However, like most their conversations, right before he could press for the good part, they’d arrived at the apartments.

Lev opened his mouth, just about to ask _why._

Why are the Yaku’s _so_ crazy? 

Why does everyone seem to avoid Morisuke like the plague?

Morisuke spoke before he could.

“I’m not upset at him, or at you, or at my Mom, or anyone else, really. The only person I can truly say I’m upset at...is myself. For all the ways I could change our track record...”

His hand drifted towards his neck, where the silver chain necklace hung as was usual.

"...but I'm just to scared."

Lev's eyebrows furrowed. "Scared? Of what?"

_What demons are you fighting?_

Lev so desperately wanted to know.

Morisuke shrugged.

"Of everything that could go wrong, I guess." He admitted.

Lev didn't miss the way those eyes raised to his, and somehow, it made the silver haired boy feel like it was all his fault.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

Then the libero ran off up the sidewalk and around the corner.

Gone.

Lev felt a pinch in his heart, hand still half raised as if to stop him.

Not for the first time since they’d met, he wanted so badly to chase after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thats all for now! I plan on returning to this issue in a little while, but it'll be a bit, we have some other stuff to tackle first! It's gonna be awesome! So, please drop a comment below, they help Lev crush on Mori even harder, and please read again next time!!!


	16. Blood Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So things are about to go from cute fluffy and slightly angsty to freaking 1670739750937509375023957230 miles an hour real fast, so buckle down! Please enjoy!

**_Two weeks later._ **

 

Just like every weekday, Lev and Morisuke set out from the school.

Morisuke was honestly counting down the hours until he could dig out his black robe and boots, run to his friends in the underground, and feel normal for at least two to three days time. 

Surrounded by people just as crazy as he was.

However, little did he know that they had something _very_ unusual on the schedule tonight. 

Yes, they.

As in, the _both_ of them.

Yawning, Morisuke checked his watch, before feeling as though something were way off about the date. 

_Got out later than usual, it’s actually starting to get dark..._

He lifted his gaze and saw the moon just barely starting to come into view on the horizon. 

At the sight of it, his heart skipped a beat.

“Hey, do you know if it’s a full moon tonight?” He asked, trying to keep his tone level.

After all, that scarlet hue could just be a figment of his imagination.

Lev nodded. “My sister actually said tonight is something called the Blood Moon, when the moon turns red!”

Morisuke stopped walking.

Lev looked down at him, worried. “Something wrong?”

“No, no, I just, I just realized I need to get home really soon, we’d better pick up the pace.”

He started walking faster, and, though bewildered, Lev complied.  

“Is something wrong?” He repeated, more urgently.

Morisuke shook his head. “No, no, it’s fine, really.” He insisted.

_Blood Moon is today!? Why the hell didn’t I know that!? This isn’t good...on the red moon the undead creatures are most active, I’ve got to get home and get some gear so I can help Mom, Mei and Shin! Not to mention they target necromancers! And the ghosts will be going wild too, this is the night we make enough to live off of during the slow winter months!_

It was a confusing thing, the way these creatures affected the human race. Necromancers themselves could be injured, obviously, but even though humans couldn’t see them, the creatures of the undead could still cause damage to humans, to their property, and even on the rarest occasion be seen by a human. 

Yaku still wasn’t completely clear on what requirements had to be met for a human to actually see a monster, spirit, or ghost, but another thing he knew about Blood Moon was that ghosts were far more active during this time. 

He could already tell his little ghostly posse was getting jittery, and he knew he needed to get back soon.  

Oikawa was whining about feeling hot, Kuroo was rolling back his overlong sleeves, Hinata was doing backflips with sudden need to move about, Suga was kicking his feet beneath him and cracking his knuckles over and over again, and finally Akaashi was fanning himself with his fedora, his tie loosened and the top few buttons of his dress shirt undone.

Lev looked down at Morisuke this entire time, trying to decrypt just why he was so worked up. He had no way of seeing the group of five uncomfortable ghosts behind him.

They made it to the apartment complex, Morisuke gave a hurried goodbye and took off, as per usual.

This time, however, Lev dropped his backpack in the pavilion just inside the gate, and then followed him. 

_I’m going to figure out just what makes him so strange! Why everyone says the Yaku family is so crazy! Then he’ll finally let me in, and maybe I’ll be able to understand him, like Kenma-san does! Then...then maybe I can ask him...maybe..._

He snuck along a far ways back, knowing that his towering height and identifying eyes and hair weren’t good for a stealth mission. However, his catholic style school uniform was still in play, which was better than his usual bright red Nekoma sweats.

He followed the third year until, suddenly, he stopped on the sidewalk, looking up. 

“Hey, it’s ok. I can see you. I won’t hurt you. Let me help, ok?” 

Lev watched in confusion as Morisuke conversed quietly with what looked like empty air to the half Russian boy. 

“Your mothers ring, huh? You lost it, and you need it before you can go. Alright, do you know where you lost it? Down here, huh? You chased it?”

Morisuke walked over to the sewer grate, looking down into the pitch darkness of the shaft that was barred over.

“It took you a while to find the exact spot once you remembered, didn’t it? I’d figured.” 

Morisuke squatted down next to the grate.

“Have you looked down there?” 

He offered a warm smile up at nothing. “You were scared of the dark? No, that’s ok, it probably is scary down there. Lucky for us, I’ve got a trick so we don’t have to go down there at all.”

Lev was now starting to understand why everyone thought Morisuke was crazy.

Here he was, kneeling next to a sewer grate and having a conversation with someone who, as Lev could see, obviously was _not_ there.

“Check this out.”

Morisuke put his hand out over the grate, palm down.

He snapped his fingers and a gust of cold wind spiraled around the small form Lev’d come to care about so much. 

Red light flickered, and from the depths of the grate, up flew multiple coins, someones spare keys, a lapel pin, and a muck caked diamond ring.

“Got it!” Morisuke held the ring up, letting all the other stuff fall by the wayside.

The older boy then offered a soft, bashful laugh that would have been downright adorable under different circumstances. The way his nose crinkled and his eyes fell closed had Lev’s heart jumping in his chest far more than the strange magic trick the auburn haired third year had just performed.

“Yeah, pretty cool, right? Well, here you go, take it!”

Lev’s mouth fell open when the ring then levitated, as if someone had actually taken it from Morisuke’s offering hand.

Golden light started pouring from the spot Morisuke was looking up at as though the sun itself has descended down to earth.

“You’re welcome, tell your mother I said hello, ok? I’m glad I was able to help you, good luck up there!”

Morisuke waved into the light, and then, in a single flash, it was gone.

Leaving a small heap of gold coins, and jewelry on the sidewalk, topped by a brightly colored scarf.

Yaku scoffed. “Well, sorry you guys are such tough cases! Most of the time younger kids don’t have very complicated final wishes. It also helps that most of the time they _remember_ them!” 

He shot a dirty look over his shoulder at nothing, before he put his hand out the side and, with a quick flick of the wrist he drew a pentagram in the air. It crackled red and glowed for a moment before, in a quick burst of sparks, Morisuke’s bag appeared, falling out of nowhere. 

Lev’s mouth fell open.

_So that’s where he keeps it...?_

It explained how occasionally the auburn haired boy would be about school without his bag on him, and yet still have his necessary textbook without making a locker run. 

In general, the silver haired middle blocker was still trying to wrap his head around the entire scene, unable to do anything but kneel in the bushes and watch as Morisuke collected the small pile of loot into the bag and stood up.

“Alright, Blood Moon is a busy night for the family, guys, let’s get that gold!”

He ran off in the direction of his house. 

Lev, meanwhile, dragged himself from the bushes and, probably against better judgement, gave chase yet again, feeling more determined than ever.

 

**_The park._ **

 

As they were running by the park, same place they’d weathered the storm months ago, Morisuke skidded to a halt, looking into it, before he rushed through the gates.

Lev peeked around the edge and he felt his jaw drop, not for the first time today, however, this time he was seeing a very different scene.

Shin, Morisuke’s brother, and Mei, Morisuke’s sister, whom he’d met during the shopping cart race at the grocery store, were both there.

Mei, however, was spinning a large staff of gnarled dark wood with many scarves, rings, bands, and carvings all over it. 

She brought it down and tapped the ground.

Where she’d stroked through the air with the staff, purple light glowed up, not unlike the way Morisuke had made the little red star. 

This one, though, was massive, it glittered in the darkness and started spinning.

Mei pointed with her staff.

The spinning star exploded, changed color, and multiplied. Bright golden stars rained down, pounding into a form Lev could see _must_ have been there. 

He just couldn’t _see_ it, and he couldn’t hear what must have been howls of agony from the creature, whatever it was.

“Are you guys nuts!? That is not the type of spell you use in...”

Morisuke was cut off when Shin suddenly darted down from the tree he had been kneeling in, a mean looking bow, also covered with rings, scarves, and bands, in his right hand.

“Mori!” He shouted. 

Yaku whirled around, eyes wide.

The nineteen year old sprinted across the grass, landed in the saddle of one of the swings, pushed off it, and grabbed Morisuke around the waist, throwing him a good dozen feet away with a flash of orange that must of amplified the strength of his throw.

While the youngest of the trio went rolling into the sandbox, vanishing behind the divider for it with a grunt, Shin started to drop towards the ground again.

What Lev couldn’t understand was why Shin had moved so urgently to get Morisuke out of the way. At least, until an invisible force, seemed to catch Shin in the abdomen and send him hurtling across the park. 

“Shin!” Mei shouted.

_That hit was going for Yaku-san, but he got him out of the way and took the blow. He can see what they’re fighting...Yaku-san can too...?_

The black beanie wearing older brother smashed into the tree he’d been sheltering in only a moment before, but he curled into the impact and sprung right back, shielding his head in a practiced motion. In a fluid snap of the arm, he freed three arrows from his quiver with his left hand and snapped them into position.

He notched the three arrows and fired all of them at once.

They spiraled in a triangle formation, orange flames appearing at the tip of each, and they did appear to stab into something Lev couldn’t see, before each arrow exploded. 

The thing must have been knocked backwards.

Mei flung herself forward.

“Take this, you nasty naberius!” She shouted, bringing her staff down. 

The large knot at the top of the stick cracked solidly against the invisible, inaudible monster. 

A thud shook the ground, Lev watched in amazement as, just like that, black fused light glowed from the spot, and when it disappeared, there was a pile of treasures left behind.

Mei rushed to the tree, where Shin was now leaning back against it, looking exhausted, with one arm wrapped about his midsection.

“You ok?”

She pressed a hand against his chest lightly and he winced before shooing her hand away. “Just a bruise. Nothing broken. Where’s Mori?”

Right on time, a head of spiky auburn hair popped up from the sandbox.

Shaking the grains from his head and beating them from his clothes, Morisuke ran to join them.

“Shin! Oh my god, I am so sorry, I didn’t see...” Yaku began quickly.

The older shook his head.

“But...”

Shinnosuke put his hand up. “It’s fine. Just be more careful.”

“But Shin, you could have gotten...”

_“I’m fine.”_

Morisuke’s shoulders dropped in defeat and he nodded. “Yeah, ok...thanks for the save.”

“Anytime.” Shin replied, bumping his shoulder against Morisuke’s as he walked past.

Then, the archer was about a half a head taller, so it was more of an arm to shoulder bump.

“Jackpot!” Mei shouted excitedly, running over to their haul, grey knee length coat adorned in patches swaying behind her. She was thrilled now that it was established her little brothers were both ok.

As they were collecting it into bags, Shin and Mei had both summoned their own, Mei spoke up.

“I see you’ve already started cashing in on Blood Moon.” She pointed to the bag on Mori’s shoulder.

The seventeen year old shrugged, in the middle of studying a blood red ruby ring.

“I ran into a little boy on the way home from school, he asked me to help him get his mothers ring. It had rolled across the street and fallen down a sewer grate, and he’d been chasing it. That’s when he got hit by a car.”

Lev clapped a hand over his mouth when Shin and Mei both had little to no reaction to this.

“What was his time period?” Mei asked.

Morisuke hesitated. “Didn’t ask. From how he was dressed I’d guess maybe the fifties? Not sure.”

Shin hummed to show he was listening and Mei spoke next, happily chattering about the Naberius.

“Oh, and Mom’s off in the forest dark faye hunting, she wouldn’t let us come with! And we have to be back in the house before 12 AM, because apparently that’s when all the _really_ sick stuff comes out. Waka’s on watch for us or he’ll call her and tell her if we’re more than twenty minutes late.” 

“No fair.” Shin commented softly.

“Right?” Mei wailed.

“We’re adults! We can handle some stupid fairies!”

Morisuke cleared his throat.

“Fairies and faye are very different. Fairies are friendly little human like creatures with wings that control different aspects of nature and household. Faye, on the other hand, are human sized, sometimes larger, and while the majority of them are peaceful and keep to themselves, the ones off in the back end of the forest are evil and chaos causing. There’s a huge bounty out for their wings, with the poisoned black veins. Mom’s probably counting on them to come out for the Blood Moon, and then cash in on the wings later on in the underground.”

Mei sighed. “Probably. I guess she does have a lot more experience.”

“Maybe next Blood Moon.” Shin said, raising a finger.

Morisuke swept the last of the coins into his bag and stood.

Mei walked over to him.

“I brought you your dagger, just in case.”

She offered forward a twelve inch dagger that looked dangerously sharp, it glittered in the moonlight. The handle had several different colored bands around it, three different scarves of red, purple, and yellow patterns were tied right above the pommel. It also had multiple rings hanging off the small hoop coming from the bottom of the pommel. The thing was wrapped in worn leather and had dull gold as the color for it’s finish. 

Morisuke threw the knife into the air, letting it twirl in a deadly spin before it fell and he caught it by the handle again, blade pointing down.

“Let’s get to work, then!” He declared. 

They turned towards the park gates.

Lev tripped in his haste to get away from the edge of the wall, and, heart hammering in his chest, he fled homeward. 

  
**_The Next Day_**

 

Morisuke could tell something was off with Lev.

The boy was normally so eager to meet him after practice, but today it as almost as if he were stalling. As a matter of fact, Morisuke was the one waiting by the gate for him. 

When Lev finally did turn the corner, he jumped at the sight of Yaku leaning on the wall.

“Sheesh, you took forever. Ready to go?” Morisuke asked, playing at irritation.

“Y-Yeah, sure!” Lev exclaimed, and Morisuke didn’t miss the stutter.

They spent the first five minutes of their walk in absolute silence. Every day for months now, Morisuke would never have to think of something to talk about, because Lev would be ready with just about any topic under the sun.

So, when Lev just walked with his hands in his pockets, acting like he was trying not to stare, Morisuke thought back, trying to pinpoint if anything strange had happened when Lev was around.

_I don’t remember...I did act a little weird yesterday because of Blood Moon but that’s about all. I didn’t talk to the ghosts or anything while I was around him. I was just a bit jittery. Maybe that’s it?_

“What’s wrong? Is it because I rushed us yesterday?” Morisuke asked, feeling concerned.

When Lev looked down at him, for the very first time he saw a look in those green eyes that he’d silently wished every day would never come.

Lev was looking at him like he thought he was crazy.

Even so, the first year managed a response. “No, no, that’s not it! It’s just...uh...I just...”

Morisuke saw it, he saw straight through the horrible cover Lev was trying to pull. 

After all, the libero was an expert at lying, especially when it involved convincing people that everything was ok.

“You think I’m crazy too.” Yaku said, laying it down, clear as day.

Lev jumped at the accusation. “No! No, I don’t think you’re crazy, Yaku-san, I just...I...”

Morisuke felt rage bubbling up.

“You think I’m crazy! Just like everyone else! I knew you were too good to be true!” He shouted, pointing up into the towering boys face.

Lev recoiled, as if scared that Morisuke’s touch would burn him.

It had been a reaction, but now he couldn’t regret it more when he saw how deep the hurt was in those off brown eyes.

The ring felt like ice against Morisuke’s skin underneath his school uniform

Yaku scoffed, stepping back and shoving his hands in his pants pockets.

“You weren’t worth it after all.” 

With this he stalked off up the sidewalk.

“Yaku-san, wait! I’m sorry, I swear I don’t think you’re crazy, I just, I...!”

Morisuke picked up his feet and ran.

Unlike yesterday, Lev didn’t chase him. 

However, yesterday, he should never have chased him at all.

Today, though, he should have run after that retreating figure like the devil himself were in pursuit.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go! It's out there! Lev knows! And also thinks that Mori is crazy and now Mori is having an insecure breakdown...  
> ;-; Things got hard for my OTP, poor boys. Anyway! Please drop a comment, they help Lev make the right decision, and please leave kudos if you've never been here before! Thanks so very much for reading!


	17. Good Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sad and then it gets better and then unexpected things happen because PLOT! :D   
> Please enjoy~

Kenma arrived at the Yaku household out of breath with his hair a bedraggled mess, wearing a pale blue hoodie, black shirt with a red pentagram on the lapel, and baggy jeans. 

He knocked on the door, and Ikumi came to open it.

She instantly enveloped him in a hug. “Kenma! You’re such a good friend to my son, I’m so glad you’re here! The second he got home he went straight upstairs and locked himself in his room! Tooru, Keiji, all of them are up there with him, and none of them will come out! He needs someone who’s living and breathing right now, even though I don’t know why! Mei said when he came in it looked like he’d been crying!” 

Kenma squirmed awkwardly out of his surrogate aunts hold.

“I’ll try.” He said quietly as he headed for the stairs. 

In his backpack he had a variety of trinkets from his own Blood Moon haul, and was he hoping that offering to trade with Morisuke, like they had every Blood Moon since they were seven, would cheer him up.

He also had a dreadful feeling he knew just what had gotten him down in the first place.

When he arrived at the door he knocked lightly.

“Go away.” Came Yaku’s miserable voice.

“It’s Kenma and I didn’t run all the way over here to _not_ be a good friend, ok?” He called in.

A few moments went by before the door creaked open, thanks to Tetsurou sweeping his hand through it to boggle the lock.

Kenma pushed the door open, nodded to Kuroo, and shut the door behind himself.

“Kitten, you’ve got your work cut out for you...none of us have been able to get just what happened out of him.” Kuroo admitted, slate colored eyes heavy with worry.

Morisuke was sat on the edge of his bed, hugging his journal to his chest, looking beyond devastated.

His pen was clutched in a white knuckled grip. His ghosts were all hovering around, looking down on him with deep biting concern lit in their translucent eyes.

Kenma walked in, dropping his backpack to the floor as he came, and sat down next to his older friend.

For a few moments nothing was said, just red rimmed off brown eyes staring up at gold ones, until Kenma gave him a sort of spread of the arms, an extremely awkward attempt at a supportive smile, and the slight tilt of the head. 

Yeah. 

Easily the single most awkward ‘need a hug’ gesture the world has ever seen.

Morisuke didn’t care. 

He took it.

“The stupid...stupid...I knew it was a bad idea! I was even...even thinking that even the stupid angels thought...that’s why...in the reward why they...” 

Morisuke’s words were hiccuping and choppy against the bottle blondes shoulder, but Kenma got the gist of it.

“Lev said something dumb?”

Morisuke gave a whimpered. “Yeah.”

Kenma exhaled slowly.

“Well, Lev _is_ dumb. But I know he cares about you...are you sure this is really that bad?” Kenma asked, trying his best not to say something insensitive.

He really wasn’t the seer for this job, but he was the only person who could do it at the moment, so he just had to take it in stride.

“Y-Y-You didn’t s-see how h-he looked at me-e.”

Yaku finally pulled away from Kenma’s embrace and looked his fellow seer in the eye, trying his best to settle his voice down.

“He looked at me like I was _crazy._ ” 

Kenma sighed softly, he knew how bad a look like that stung, he’d been under those gazes himself far too often. Receiving it from a stranger, or a passing acquaintance was one thing, but from the first person you’d truly been able to befriend in the real world for well over a dozen years? 

That hurt. 

It _really_ hurt.

“Alright...but...”

Before he could finish, the doorbell rang.

“I’ll go check it out.” Suga volunteered before he dove through the floorboards.

Kenma rubbed circles against Morisuke’s back as the third year furiously wiped at his eyes with his sleeve.

As he was doing this, something caught his eye. “You never gave him back his hoodie?”

Morisuke looked up and saw the cozy gray material hung over the bedpost right behind him.

“No...I mean, I meant to, but then he never asked for it back and I just kept forgetting to and...”

Kenma cut him off. “Have you worn it again?” 

Morisuke felt his face burn.

“M-Maybe once...or twice...” He admitted through a constricted throat.

Kenma shook his head, still uncombed, wild bottle blonde hair stuck out from his scalp at every angle.

No other words were spoken, because Suga came flying through the bedroom door. Literally through, however, as we’ve learned, when he did so the door slammed wide open, as per usual.

Koushi didn’t even apologize, instead, he blurted out his news. “Lev’s here! Lev’s at the door talking to Ikumi-san!”

“What?” Kenma hissed as Morisuke seized the nearest fabric, which just so happened to be Lev’s hoodie, and pulled it over his head.

“Kenma! Come down here a second please!” Came Ikumi’s voice.

“Coming!” Kenma called back, hair swishing back over his shoulder as he did so.

“Tell him I died.” Yaku ordered from under the hoodie as he made fast progress at vanishing under his comforter as well.

Kenma shook his head softly and stood up slowly. 

He came down the stairs, finally arrived at the door where Lev was standing with his usual backpack over one shoulder, fiddling with his own fingers nervously.

Ikumi was leaning casually in the doorway. “You know this young man, right?”

Kenma hummed, not missing the way Lev looked to him with borderline shock at seeing him within the household he’d been so far barred from so much as crossing the threshold. 

“What you want, Lev? It’s your fault Morisuke’s so upset.” Kenma demanded.

“I KNEW IT!” Ikumi roared suddenly, gently pulling Kenma under her arm while simultaneously slamming the door viciously right in Lev’s face.

Kenma stared in shock at the now closed door as Ikumi looked down to him sweetly.

“Now, darling, do you want some muffins? Waka just made some fresh, maybe you can take some up for Mori?”

“Auntie, that wasn’t very nice.” Kenma chided, raising a finger as he shuffled out from under the auburn haired master hunter’s arm.

The woman slouched.  “I know, I know, but I don’t ever want any of my babies hearts to be broken! If this is the guy that made my little boy cry like that, I don’t ever want him to go near anyone in my family again!”

Ikumi whined like a pouty child, auburn bob of hair flicking back and forth around her face.

Kenma shook his head again, he honestly couldn’t believe this family.

He couldn’t believe he was an adopted cousin of said family either. “He’s also the reason Morisuke’s been so happy these past few months, and hasn’t been so upset about school.” 

Ikumi didn’t seem convinced.

Kenma sighed, not for the first time today and certainly not for the last. “Let me try, ok? I’ll talk to him. I get the feeling this is just a huge misunderstanding.” 

Ikumi crossed her arms, scowling. “Alright, I trust you, dear, but you’d better come get me before you do something like let him in!” 

Kenma nodded. 

“Yes ma’am.” He said dully before he opened the door, stepped out, and shut it behind him. 

Lev was still there, looking dejectedly at the floor. However, when Kenma came out, he looked up with an expression that conveyed hoping against hope.

“Kenma-san!” He exclaimed, looking down to the setter.

Kenma hauled back and proceeded to kick Lev in the shin.

“OW!” Lev dropped his bag and clutched at his leg in agony, hopping up and down.

“Why!?”

Kenma stuffed his hands casually back into his pockets.

“Because you made Morisuke cry. You made Auntie angry. It’s _never_ a good thing to make Auntie angry.” 

Lev groaned. “I didn’t _mean_ too! I tried to tell him, I tried so hard to tell him what I saw, but...Kenma-san, you won’t believe it!”

He looked back and forth like he was about to reveal something groundbreaking and then leaned down to whisper.

“I think Yaku-san and his family can see something normal people can’t.” Kenma blinked apathetically.

“Yeah, I know.” He said dully.

“Wait, so they actually can!?” Lev gasped, having expected his guess to be way off.

Kenma rolled his eyes, not even dignifying that with a response. “Just explain to me what happened.”

Lev told him everything he’d seen in detail.

Kenma gave a soft ‘ah’ when he was finished.

“Ok, so you don’t think Morisuke’s crazy at all, you were just freaked out because you didn’t know _what_ he was.”

Lev hesitated before nodding. “I guess that’s about right.”

“Ok. Wait here a sec.”

Kenma opened the door to the house again and walked back in, shutting the door behind him. Ikumi had vanished, so Kenma elected not to be worried about her at the moment.

He took the stairs two at a time and finally popped up on the third floor landing, panting and out of breath. 

_This is all the good friend that Morisuke is getting for the next three months._

He thought as he opened the door to the teenage necromancers room and went inside. “Morisuke, you’ve got a visitor.”

Morisuke popped up from under the comforter, the hoodie had vanished at some point, and stared at Kenma like he’d grown a second head. 

“There is no way in hell I’m going down there. Did you let him inside?”

Kenma shook his head. “No, but he’s waiting out on the deck. He doesn’t think you’re crazy, not at all, he just saw you guys at it yesterday during Blood Moon in the park. He saw something he couldn’t explain, and magic he couldn’t understand. He doesn’t think your crazy, but he doesn’t know what to think of you at all now.”

Morisuke looked at Kenma for a few moments, trying to find any deception there, before he stood up.

He looked down at his rumpled black tee shirt, matching Kenma from that one fundraiser they’d gone too in the underground, and his old Nekoma sweats.

“Is this even presentable?” Morisuke asked him.

“Do you even care?” Kenma fired back.

“True.”

Morisuke took a deep breath and headed out, walking down the stairs, snatching a muffin from the plate Satori was holding on his way up to offer some to Kenma. 

“Hey!” Satori shouted after him.

“I’m about to go die of awkwardness and humiliation, and I’m fine with Waka’s muffins being my final meal.” Morisuke replied.

Satori stared after him for a moment before Kenma came darting around him and snatched a muffin too.

Then each of the ghosts swept by, or through, in a cyclone of translucent clothes and fading body parts. 

Leaving Satori gawking at his empty plate.

“You guys can’t even eat them!” He hollered.

“No, but they smell good!” Tooru gave him a peace sign while Satori smacked the plate off the side of his thigh in frustration.

“At least give _me_ one! I was going to offer them to all the people who could _eat_ them first!”

Meanwhile, Morisuke had scarfed down the muffin, taken it as a shot of courage, and whacked the crumbs from his shirt before he stepped outside.

Lev reacted even harsher to this than he did to Kenma making an appearance. He jumped backwards at the sight of the third year he’d come here for in the first place.

_I didn’t actually think he’d come out!_

Morisuke reached down to pull the backs of his sneakers over his heels as he looked up pointedly at Lev.

Once he’d down this, laces still undone, he crossed his arms.

“Well? Have you got a reason to be here or not?”

Lev felt his hands shake as he unzipped his bag and pulled out a small box of chocolate.

“I...uh...was hoping you’d go out with me!”

A moments pause.

A moment longer.

Just a tad bit more.

“What...the... _hell_ _?"_  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup! :D   
> We brought the romance around full circle yes oh yes oh yes!!!! It'll work out, I hope! Anyway, please drop a comment, they help Kenma recover from being such a good friend, and please leave some kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks so much for reading!


	18. Just the same

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes that sailing ship you all arrived 18 chapters ago looking for! :D   
> Please enjoy~

**_Yaku Family House._ **

 

“Well? Have you got a reason to be here or not?”

Lev felt his hands shake as he unzipped his bag and pulled out a small box of chocolate.

“I...uh...was hoping you’d go out with me!”

A moments pause.

A moment longer.

Just a tad bit more.

“What...the... _hell?”_ Morisuke said slowly, eye twitching. 

After this whole epidemic of questioning sanity and Blood Moon’s and matchmaking ghosts and demons baking him muffins, _this_ was what Lev wanted to ask?

Lev stood there apprehensively for a moment before Morisuke snatched the box with a little more aggression then necessary.

“Ok! Yes! _Great!_ That was something I’ve been wanting to get over with, so sure! I’ll go out with you! Sounds wonderful!”

Lev’s mouth opened and closed like a dying fish, but Morisuke just steamrolled right along.

“Now let’s get to the part where you avoided me all day and stared at me like I was insane and gave me an insecure break down!”

Lev stared at him in shock.

“Wait, you’ll actually go out with me?” He asked.

“Yes! Lev, you idiot, I’ve liked you since, like, the first week we knew each other! Now can we get back to topic one, please?” 

Lev gawked at him.  “But...but...this is kind of...?”

Morisuke raised an eyebrow at him. “We can talk about whatever you want this...”

He pointed between the two of them. “...to be, right after you explain to me how you figured it out!”

Lev kicked at the deck boards, trying his best to just go along with whatever speed this was that Morisuke had set. “Well, you were acting so jittery and weird yesterday that, after you left the apartment, I kind of...followed you?”

Yaku’s palm struck his own forehead with a resounding _smack._

“And I didn’t see you!? Ugh, I’m such an idiot! So you saw me deal with the little boy and his mothers ring!” 

Lev nodded awkwardly.

“Though...I didn’t see a little boy...so when you just started talking I was kind of concerned. Then you snapped your fingers and all the metal objects flew out of the grate, the pile of treasure, and the bag out of nowhere. Obviously you weren’t crazy, you were just...”

Yaku shrugged. “Something else? Yeah, that’s me in a nutshell.”

Lev looked down at him with eyes filed with curiosity. 

He wanted to know everything there was to know about Morisuke, about his life, his world, and his talent. 

All of that, and so much more.

Lev tilted his head with a smile.

“I really want to know just _what_ you are.” 

Morisuke felt the rosy blush across his face.

Because really what the hell had he ever done in his life that made him worthy of being the sole recipient of that smile?

“Well...I guess it doesn’t hurt to tell...at least not now that you know something it up already.” He said slowly, before he held the box of chocolate up behind him.

“Take this inside will you, Keiji? Don’t let Tooru mess with it. Thanks.”

Lev took a breath, about to ask just who Morisuke was talking to when the chocolate box was suddenly taken from Morisuke’s hand. 

Yaku watched the priceless expression on Lev’s face and laughed.

“Keiji’s been there this entire time...in fact, we’ve never truly been alone since the first time we met.”

Lev was still watching the floating box of chocolate when the door suddenly creaked slowly open and the box flew inside. 

The door was slammed loudly behind it.

Morisuke looked over his shoulder, he’d already gone tapping down the first few steps.

“You coming?” 

Lev nodded slowly, but didn’t move.

Laughing, Morisuke came back up the steps and seized Lev by the hand, dragging him down to the dirt path that led through their beautiful garden, cared for by not only Waka but also the fairies that lived there for the majority of the year. 

Morisuke snapped his fingers and the latch of the gate came undone, the wooden slats swinging open. 

They walked out, Lev still reeling from the experience, which wasn’t helped with the fact that Morisuke had their fingers intertwined. 

“Where do you want to go to talk about...what I am?” Morisuke asked, the confidence that had come from finally being able to be as he was naturally being overtaken. 

He snapped his fingers behind himself and the gate swung back shut, latching again.

Lev stuttered. 

“U-Uh...I’d say maybe...t-the park, but...”

Morisuke raked his free hand through his hair.

“I know a place down in the woods, no ones ever down there. Sound good?”

Lev forced a nod.

“Sure.”

 

**_The Forest Clearing._ **

 

Morisuke dropped to sit on the top of a long smoothed out log underneath a massive oak in the middle of the clearing.

Lev sat down next to him, running a hand over the smooth wood, all the bark had been chipped clean away.

“Wow, did you just find it like this?”

“Nah.” Morisuke flicked his wrist out and in a spark of red, his dagger fell out absolute nothingness and into his hand.

He twirled the blade with expert grace between his fingers, the scarves flying out and rings jangling.

He tossed it once, twice, and then, on the third throw, he snapped his fingers again and the dagger vanished in another short burst of red sparks.

“I shaved it for practice with my dagger...took me a few years to do the entire thing.”

Lev gulped. “Oh...co-cool...”

A moments silence. 

“So...what do you want to talk about?” Morisuke pressed.

_Faking confidence is just about the only way I’ll get through this situation. There’s no way I’m just gonna be able to talk about something like this with my usual attitude without breaking down._

Lev seemed to finally cool down enough to speak properly. 

He was ready to actively accept this was happening, and learn as much as he possibly could. 

“The first thing, what you said we could talk about. What are you, Yaku-san?”

Morisuke sighed. “That in and of itself is a tough one. I’m human, just like you, but unlike you, I was born into a family of necromancers.”

He rolled his head back, struggling.

Growing up, a explanation like this was never to leave him mouth, and yet, here he was. 

Confessing his abnormality. 

His ‘insanity’.

Right here, to the first person he’d ever felt this way about in his entire life.

“I’m a seer, that’s the name for any and all people who can ‘see’. And by sight, I don’t mean ‘hey look at that bird over there’.”

He gestured randomly off at the bushes to make a point. 

Lev nodded, eyes rapt with attention.

Morisuke blew another breath, trying to think of the right words, before speaking again.

More than that, he was trying not to get tripped up by being the only focus of those gorgeous eyes, to be the one who had that pale face so enraptured. 

“Our ‘sight’ is the ability to see the dark side of the world. Demons, fairies, ghosts, all of that. They all exist, and they’re all around us, all the time.”

He pointed to the wooded area across from them.

“There’s a few nature faye over there, they’re the peaceful type of faye. Some faye cause chaos, like the ones isolated at the back end of the forest.” He waved, smiling to these invisible people, and Lev got the chilling impression that something had waved back.

A shiver went up his spine.

“So those types of things are everywhere?” He asked.

Morisuke nodded. “Everywhere. It’s the job of certain seer’s, mostly necromancers, to make sure that’s managed. That’s my families real business. My sister, brother, and mother all hunt evil creatures. My Mom specializes in the high level undead, chaos, and demon taming, my sister and brother go after the strength in numbers style creatures most of the time...and then there’s me.”

Morisuke sighed. 

“I don’t fight all that much, hence my weapon of choice being pretty good at casting. I’m a possession necromancer. I deal with ghosts.”

He cocked his head to the side.

“It’s sort of like a seance, except not at all. I can let a ghost enter me and see through my mortal body. Relive their last moments, find the thing, person, or place they need to finally be at peace, and then they can finally pass on to the pretty place upstairs. Leaving behind a reward that is sized depending on how difficult it was to help them. Sometimes a possession isn’t even neccessary, like with the little boy from last night. Certain ghosts, however, are trapped in purgatory, which means they will wander the material plane for eternity. Those guys tend to buddy up with necromancers so not to grow to hate their existence, and most of the time they eventually can find ways to move on as well. I’ve got at least thirty ghosts in and out of my house right now. It’s pretty fun, actually, meeting people from all different time periods.”

He smiled. "That's who Keiji is. He's a ghost, so is Tooru. And Tetsu. And Shouyou. And Koushi and...and...I think you get the idea." 

Lev nodded.  “I...I think I get it. I just...”

Morisuke look at him expectantly.

“You just what?” 

The green eyed boy sighed, the sadness in his eyes tearing more pain than the loudest possible clap of thunder could into Yaku’s heart.

“I just wish I could _see_ it.” He said simply.

Morisuke felt a tug on the chain around his neck, the ring moving a hair in Lev’s direction.

_You can._

His heart pounded uncomfortably in his chest as he tried to shake the growing worry that this could all come crashing down. This beautiful moment of finally having someone who might grow to become to person he would love his entire life could be torn to shreds with a few choice words.

Morisuke took a deep breath, until his chest swelled, let it out over the course of a good ten seconds, and the words propelled themselves from his mouth like an arrow dragged from a wound. 

“What if you could?” He spat.

Lev looked shocked, eyes widening and locking back to Mori’s. “Really? Is there a spell or something?”

Morisuke locked his gaze to the ground, the individual blades of grass were suddenly very interesting.

“Or something.” He said cryptically.

Lev nodded. “Well then yes! I want to see it, I really do!”

The auburn haired third year shook his head, pulling his knees up to rest his heels against the log.

Lev looked down at him, his eyes piercing. 

In that moment, Morisuke saw something in them he didn’t see before. Something stronger than what Morisuke usually saw when he looked in the eyes of someone who was blind to the world that he was wide open too.

All of them, somehow, despite his size, Yaku felt so much bigger than. He’d seen dragons and ghosts, fairies and witches. Magic was real, not just something off a TV screen, but it was something much darker and more dangerous than some magic words. Demons and gods and angels, they were all out there, somewhere. 

So, when Morisuke looked into the eyes of a human who thought it was all just a bunch of malarky, he felt a heaviness in his heart. 

He couldn’t decide if he were glad to be a so called ‘superior’ to them, or if he wished to have that light that protected them himself. 

Right now, though, looking into Lev’s eyes, he saw many emotions swirling together in bottomless pools of emerald green. 

Such a deep want to know, to see the way that Morisuke saw, was hidden there. 

Buried down there, muddled and almost lost within the confusion and the curiosity and the fear and the love, wait, the _love_? 

_I can tackle that later..._

The most valuable thing to take away from all of that mush, however, was the want Lev had. 

Lev wanted to see the world the way the third year he loved did. 

Yes, loved. 

But like Morisuke said, we’ll tackle that later.

“This way...”

Morisuke began slowly, and Lev was hanging off his every word.

“The only way _I_ know of...it’s permanent. Once you see, you can’t unsee. All of the darkness in the world will be yours to discover, but you can never get back that light. It’ll be gone, forever. The protection given to you to allow you to live your life in blissful ignorant will be no more. You’d see the world the way I see it, with all it’s darkness on full display.”

Lev’s eyes filled with conviction.

“...can I ask you something?”

Yaku shrugged. “That’s what I’m here for.”

_This has to be have been the shortest relationship on the planet..._

Morisuke was already convinced things were going south.

“What’s...what’s so _bad_ about the darkness anyway?

Morisuke took a breath, then paused, thinking it over.

Because, really, what _was_ so bad about it?

It was the darkness that had allowed his family to stay together and make a living, the darkness had given him the only friends he’d ever had, the darkness that made him feel worth something when everyone in his life but those closest said otherwise.

Then again, it was the darkness that made everyone think he was crazy, and the darkness that made his life to strange and difficult to understand.

Really, though, was it all that bad?

Morisuke let a breathy laugh pass his parted lips. “It’s...not that bad, I guess. It...makes life interesting.” 

Lev raked his hands through his hair, eyes fixed to the ground.

“Ok...let me get this straight.”

He lifted his eyes to meet the off brown ones again, still filled with that thirst for knowledge, still holding so much depth, so much care.

“You can see dead people, evil spirits, mischievous creatures, and demons.”

Morisuke weighed the list in his head. 

That was the majority of the stuff, at least.

“...yeah.” He let it slide.

Lev gave a breathless laugh. “Are you sure you’re not crazy?”

For the first time in his life, Morisuke didn’t feel the pain and distrust that normally came with that question.

It felt silly, almost like an inside joke, like that was really the thing he was worried about now? 

A little late, don’t you think?

He rolled his eyes and put his hands at his shoulders, palms up to the sky.

“More or less. It’s questionable.”

They shared a moment of soft laughter.

Lev spoke again. “If...if you’re around the entire time, then...losing my light doesn’t sound all the bad.”

Morisuke felt the hammering in his heart pick back up full speed. “Really? You want to see it?”

Lev smiled, and Morisuke felt his eyes burn at the sight, and the words that followed.

“I want to see the world the way you do, Mori. Just the same.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will yet again leave it on a semi-cliffhanger because if I had continued this chapter would have been well over 5,000 words and I would have no more pre-written material. I find shorter chapters with faster updates easier than longer chapters with fewer updates. Opinions? Anyway! Please drop a comment below, they help Lev enter a WHOLE NEW WOOOOOOORLD!!!!!  
> ...  
> Sorry.  
> And please leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks so much for reading, see you again next time! :D


	19. Things about Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN SO EXCITED FOR AHHHHH  
> ...  
> Please enjoy!!!

**_The Forest Clearing._ **

 

Lev smiled, and Morisuke felt his eyes burn at the sight, and the words that followed.

“I want to see the world the way you do, Mori. Just the same way.”

Morisuke felt his throat get stuck for a second, this caused by more than just the use of the pet name normally reserved for members of his family, already seeing so many different things in his head.

_He’ll love Wakatoshi’s muffins...and just wait till he meets the guys in the underground...and...and...Tooru, Keiji, Tetsu, Suga, he’ll get to see them too! Satori will pick on him, and just wait until my Mom gets ahold of him. She’ll teach him spells, oh, she’ll be so excited to dress him up so we can all go to the underground together. Shin likes him, and Mei will be so happy to talk his ear off. Tooru will probably try to scare him all the time until he gets used to it..._

Morisuke reached behind his head and undid the clasp of the silver chain.

He pulled the ring free and slid it out into his open palm.

Lev stared down at it.

“What is it? 

Morisuke took a deep breath, mostly just to clear the mist in his eyes from those memories that were looking all to real to make.

“This...I got this as a reward on the day you found me under the table in the thunderstorm. That’s why I was there, I wasn’t with a friend, I was...well I was with a friend, but it was a ghost. A little girl. I helped her find her teddy bear so she could move on, and when she did, she left behind my reward. This was in it.” 

He brought attention to the ring again.

“The carving on the inside, it says ‘To give the sight to one who cannot see, and drag into a world of darkness one whom in light their life leads.’”

Lev appeared to be bewildered.

Morisuke shook his head softly. “It will open your eyes, but once you put it on, it’ll never come off again...”

He remembered the smokey figure from Satori’s revealing spell. 

It made him want to vomit to think of that ever happening to Lev, and because of him. 

He closed his hand into a fist around the ring. “I...I don’t know about this. It’s...once it’s on, it never comes off, Lev. You could even chop off your hand, it’ll just come back.”

Lev blinked. “My hand or the ring?”

“The ring!’’ 

Morisuke couldn’t believe he wasn’t taking this seriously.

“It’ll come back until it’s around your neck! The only way out is to die! That’s a big commitment, ok? Are you really willing to give up the light in your soul for...for...for what? Sight? Knowledge? Your own stubbornness?”

Lev put his hand over the smaller boys fist, where the ring was still concealed, burning like dry ice against his palm with the sheer weight of it.

The look on his face was kind, soft, and filled with the type of love you didn’t think could be formed in six months of knowing someone.

Either way, when Lev spoke, it was steady, and it was strong.

“Not for any of that. For you.”

Ok, maybe love at first sight _wasn’t_ complete bullshit after all.

And anyway, Morisuke knew he was going to say that.

It made him tear it up anyway.

“But I couldn’t deal with you ruining your life for me! We’ve been dating for an hour, how could you know this is what you want?”

Lev smiled. 

“I knew it from the day I met you. There was something about you that made me want to know so much more. Not just why people thought you were crazy, or why you acted so strange, or why no one would ever hang around you. I want to know more than that.”

That smile could make anyones heart stop, what had Morisuke done to deserve having it directed at him?

“What’s your favorite food? Your favorite flavor of ice cream? Your favorite animal? Favorite season? Your favorite flower, so I can buy it on your birthday? When is your birthday? I’ve been thinking about all that stuff for weeks and weeks now! I just...I want to know about you, Morisuke...I really do.”

The silence that held was stiff, but Lev didn’t move his hand. Not yet, he held on, waiting, hoping that the necromancer would at last uncurl his fingers.

His heart pounded so hard it hurt, like a jackhammer whacking off his ribcage every time his pulse fluttered. 

His fingers were just starting to slip away from those much smaller than his own when the quiet voice came through. 

“...stir fry.” 

Lev blinked. “What?”

Morisuke looked up at him, trying to smile through teary eyes. “I like stir fry. And vanilla. I really like cats, maybe not as much as you do. Fall is the prettiest time of year, I think. I think carnations are nice...and...August the 8th...that’s my birthday.” 

Lev felt his face heat up. “I’ll...I’ll remember that. All of that.”

With his free hand, Morisuke wiped with the heel of his palm against both his eyes. “I...I just hope I’m worth it.”

Lev felt the fist he was holding release, Morisuke letting the ring darkly glint in the fading daylight. 

The middle blocker took the ring from his palm and held it up. Sure enough, sharp eyes were able to just barely make out the curve of the words on the inside.

_No backing out now._

Morisuke took a breath, probably about to ask him something like ‘are you sure’ or ‘remember, you can never take it off’ or ‘please don’t do this if you’re just trying to be tough’. 

Lev slid the ring onto his right ring finger. 

The second it was on he felt a burn against the skin where it was touching, and he fell from the log onto his hands and knees.

“Lev!” He felt Morisuke’s hand on his back.

He coughed and hacked, there was something trapped in his lungs and he couldn’t get it up.

He was drowning, his lungs were on fire, his eyes watered and his throat spasmed in a desperate bid for oxygen.

Then, just like that, he let out a final massive cough and fell back onto his rear, leaning back against the log as he stared up at the golden trail that had just emerged rather sickly from his mouth.

He clapped a hand over his mouth in disgust at the sight.

The gold spun and twisted, then it suddenly fired towards him.

It hit a bubble of shifting translucent black that was now skin tight all around him and shattered.

As it lifted up into the air, he saw it forming into something else.

Him. 

Lev. 

It was _Lev._

Up in the air, all in gold, looking down like he was pitying his real self before disintegrating into nothingness.

The dark light that had surrounded him sank into his skin, every inch of him felt like it was crawling with bugs sank under his skin. His eyes were going foggy and he actually thought he might pass out. Vertigo made the forest twist and turn before his eyes, and his stomach felt ready to empty it’s contents onto the grassy floor.

However, before everything faded to black, and before he could manage to lose what little he’d eaten for breakfast, the horrible sensation at long last faded away.

Then there was nothing.

They both sat, staring up at where the golden light had vanished for a few moments before Morisuke finally spoke.

“Are you...ok?”

Lev gave a half hearted cough, just to clear out his throat, and then spoke.

“I think so. I _feel_ ok.”

He held out his right hand and stared down at the ring. 

“It doesn’t burn like it did at first. In fact, I can barely even tell it’s there.”

He commented, still not turning to look at Morisuke quite yet.

“So...how do we know if it worked?”

Morisuke sighed.  “Well, go ahead.”

Lev didn’t understand what he meant until there was a translucent head of chocolate brown hair hanging upside-down right in front of him.

Brown eyes glittered curiously, barely an inch from his own.

“Yoo-hoo! So nice for you to finally see me!” He flashed a peace sign.

_“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for this time! We've finally got things moving along!!! :D Please drop a comment below, they help Lev survive his WHOLE NEW WOOOOORLD, and please leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks so much for reading! :D


	20. Gonna have to get used to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TIME FOR LEV TO MEET THE UNDEAD!!!  
> I have been so beyond excited for this chapter like oh my god you have no idea just...just yes it's gonna be so fun and I get to write what I started this story to write which is Lev entering the dark side of the world and it not being so bad and actually his whole life gets better and just AGGGGGGH YES  
> Please enjoy~

“Yoo-hoo! So nice for you to finally see me!” The ghost flashed a peace sign.

_“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”_

Lev almost threw himself backwards over the log, but his boyfriend latched onto his arm.

“It’s ok! It’s ok! It’s just Tooru, he’s my friend!”

The yakuza ghost flipped right side up and cocked his head to the side, tongue sticking out with his hands on his hips.

“Gotcha~” He sang.

Lev looked to Morisuke, trying to figure out how to react to this when he saw the three others hanging closely right behind the auburn haired third year, all staring at him with intense glares. When they realized they were being seen, Lev's green eyes flitting from face to face, they all went swooping up into the air and started shouting over each other.

"Finally, he'll have someone who's not dead to be there for him!" The ash blonde put a hand to his chest, looking relieved and almost teary eyed.

"Indeed, now we don't have to worry so much anymore." The fedora wearing ghost was smiling warmly.

The ghost in the red robe had his back to Lev, but he seemed for the most part silent.

“W-Where did they all come from!?”

Morisuke looked over his shoulder at the ghosts, and against it all he let out a happy sigh and flopped back against the log in relief, eyes falling shut.

“It worked. You can see them.”

“Who are them!?” Lev demanded, his voice having gone slightly pitchy.

Morisuke opened his eyes, off brown sparkling with such a deep rooted joy that it barely even made it to the surface.

"Lev...they've been here the whole time."

He then waved at the ghosts. “Well, he can see you, go introduce yourselves.”

The first to make an approach was the faded out boy in washed out ripped jeans and a volleyball club logo tee shirt.

 

“I’m Sugawara Koushi, hey!” He greeted with a three fingered wave.

The young boy with the fedora edged his way over next to him, clearly uncomfortable.

“I am Akaashi Keiji, died in 1954...erm...a pleasure to finally be properly introduced to you.” He offered a short bow.

“And I’m Oikawa Tooru! I got offed in the seventies! I was the one helping you out during the thunderstorm!” Tooru shouted, shoving Hinata and Suga to the side.

The silent man in the red robe then ghosted up in front of them all, arms crossed with a livid expression.

“You... _you_ truly think that this is all just child’s play? How _dare_ you take our way of living so trivially!” He snarled.

Lev yelped and scurried backwards, quick to get on his feet. 

Morisuke didn’t get up, he just rolled his eyes and let them have their fun.

If he were a ghost, he’d likely want to do the same thing.

The raven haired phantom proceeded forward, drawing the katana at his side with the singing sound of metal emerging echoing out despite the intangibility of the sword.

He held the blade out in front of him, and his face reflected off the perfectly polished edge.

“I don’t believe you understand the depth of this matter, all the others might be so convinced of your honestly, but I don’t just think you’re so committed...”

He moved forward and the blade of his katana was nearly touching Lev’s nose.

With this, he rose the sword and struck.

Lev flinched and threw his arms in front of his face, cowering, only for laughter to wash over the tension a moment later.

The bed head nonchalantly tossed the katana back into it’s sheath and kept right on cackling. 

Once he was finally done a wide smirk crossed his face.

“I _know_ you’re that committed.” He finished his previous statement.

He then offered a two fingered salute. "Kuroo Tetsurou, died way back in 1318 during the feudal era...I know a thing or two about reading people, I been ghosting around just that long."

Yaku, meanwhile, came wandering up from behind Tetsurou and offered his hand to Lev, who was still crouched in terror on the ground.

“A word of advice, he can’t touch you, and neither can his sword. He’s just an asshole of a dead samurai.” 

Kuroo snapped his fingers.

“Hey, you’ve fallen for the old katana draw trick once or twice!”

“When I was like _five._ ” Morisuke said pointedly.

“Still!” Kuroo whined, and he was looking less intimidating by the second.

Lev took Morisuke’s offered hand as Keiji swept up next to him.

“So.” He began a statement clearly not going anywhere, and looked increasingly uncomfortable with the way Lev was looking him up and down.

Morisuke rolled his eyes. “Hey, behemoth, just because he’s a ghost doesn’t mean he’s not a person, don’t stare.” He reprimanded, though the humor in his voice made it light.

Really, Morisuke couldn’t believe this was happening.

Lev turned his head and saw a swish of blonde hair, and watched as several towering yet creepily skinny, green leafy garbed, tan skinned people wandered off, massive butterfly like wings with golden veins pumping through them fluttering behind.

Morisuke grinned. “See? Told you. Forest Faye, they’ve been watching us. They’re real friendly, don’t worry about it, they’re just shy. It’ll take a while before they actively come up to greet you and stuff like that.”

Oikawa came spinning around the couple just then, looking beyond pleased. “See! Ha ha ha! True love wins out! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!” 

Tooru shook his fists like a giddy schoolgirl.

“Please calm down, Tooru-san, you’re freaking Lev out.” Keiji requested.

Tooru put his hands on his hips and rocked back in the air. “No! I will _not_ stop! I told everyone this was how it would end and everyone called _me_ a pushy jerk! I _knew_ this was gonna happen ever since the thunderstorm, but did anyone believe me? _Noooooo!_ Well except for Shin-chan, I guess. We were sort of collaborating on how to get you two together, but you did on your own!”

“Freaking Shin...” Morisuke grumbled under his breath.

“Y’know, he does fight with a bow and arrow, maybe he’s like cupid? He was actually planning on shooting Lev with an arrow tipped with truth potion while he was with you, and then I’d swoop in and coerce you into asking Lev what he really thinks about you. Then boom! Confession guaranteed!” 

“MY BROTHER WAS GONNA SHOOT MY BOYFRIEND WITH A FREAKING BOW AND ARROW!?” Morisuke screeched.

Oikawa rolled his eyes. “Well duh, what else do you want him to shoot him with?”

“That’s not the point!” Morisuke shouted, face red with fury.

Lev was still trying to accept that fact that he’d been getting stalked by ghosts for the past six months and had been none the wiser.

Morisuke tugged on his hand. “Wanna go back to the house? Everyone is probably eager to see how this all turned out.”

Lev hesitated. “I thought I wasn’t allowed to come in?”

Morisuke put two fingers up to his eyes, in the ‘I’m watching you’ gesture.

“That was because you wouldn’t have been able to understand why it looks the way it does in there. I mean, not a lot of residential family homes have bows and arrows, axes, knives, and fancy staffs lying around all over the place. Not to mention pentagrams painted on the walls, chalked into the floor, and all the gold and trinkets in the dining room for the next market. Oh, and don't even get me started on all the souvenirs from the hunts.”

As they were walking down the worn brown path that led back out of the forest, Lev furrowed his brow.

“So the market wasn’t a lie?” 

Morisuke seemed to think about it. “Well, not completely. Yes, when I said I was going to a market, I _was_ going to a market. Yes, my family _does_ technically sell antiques, but that’s not all. And the market...I mean it’s kind of just sat in a hole in the universe on the edge of time and space so yeah.”

Lev stopped to think about that a second. “...what?” 

Morisuke stifled laughter. “Yeah...it’s not really anywhere, or anytime, it just...is _there_.”

Morisuke put his free hand out as is gesturing to something. “Y’know?” 

Lev shook his head slowly. “That makes zero sense.”

Morisuke laughed again. “I know, right? I mean all my friends have all these theories but I’m just done with it, it’s there, that’s all I need to worry about, right?”

Lev stilled. “Wait...friends?” 

Morisuke paused. “Oh yeah...I couldn’t tell you about them before.”

The silver haired boy winced. “Are they more dead people?”

“Don’t look so unhappy about that!” Koushi shouted at him.

Morisuke shook his head. “No, no, no, they’re all alive. They’re seer’s, like me, and now, like you. The Underground is where all the necromancers in the entire world gather. There...aren’t that _many_ of us, so that’s why for the most part it’s hard work to collaborate anything. The Japanese necromancers kids are all my friends, and to that point I only hang out with six of them, which are pretty much all the ones I know of, give or take a few antisocial types.”

Lev hummed. “Cool! So you’re not totally friendless!”

Morisuke got a flat expression. “No, not quite. I mean, it’s kind of hard counting them as friends in the real world, since we’ve never once met outside of the markets once, twice, or sometimes three times a month. It really depends on how the hunters are doing. Or if a possession group gets a big haul. It’s complicated, I’ll try to explain it in more detail later, ok?”

Lev nodded eagerly. “Sounds good!”

They finally got to the thinning of the trees, and once they were back out in the open, Morisuke turned his head to see a certain gamer leaning on one of the last trees by the path.

Kenma glanced up and snapped his gameboy shut, shoving it into his pocket.

“Hey.” He greeted, walking over to them.

Lev stiffened and slid his right hand into his pocket, hiding the ring from view.

“Hey.” Morisuke let go of Lev’s hand and walked a few steps to meet Kenma.

“How did it go?” Kenma asked, leaning his head to the side slightly.

“Pretty good, I think. It’ll take a while for him to get used to being like us, though. No big deal.” The auburn haired boy shrugged.

Lev’s mouth dropped open. “Wait...Kenma-san see’s them too!?”

“Why do you _think_ I’m the only person who’s allowed in their house?” Kenma’s glare was withering.

Morisuke rolled his eyes. “He even calls my Mom ‘Auntie’.”

Lev pointed at Kenma in confusion.  “But...but your family can see them too, then? There’s another family like Mori’s around!?”

Lev was already envisioning Kenma chasing around some ghost seeing younger sibling with blonde hair and black roots, with his equally bottle blonde parents wielding spell books and wands with pointy hats.

Kenma shook his head mutedly.

Lev’s arm crumpled and he seemed even more lost. “But I thought...”

Suga swept in between the two of them with a placating hand up on either side. “Lev, Kenma is what we call a first generation seer. He was born without the light in his soul, but the rest of his family was not. He’s the only seer in his family tree, as far as we can tell, and trust me, we’ve researched it.”

Kuroo floated over and bobbed down next to Kenma, smiling widely at him. “Lucky for our little Kitten here, he ran into Morisuke in primary school right around the time our baby necromancer here was realizing not everyone can see dead people!”

Lev gawked. “Wait, your Mom didn’t explain that too you!?”

Morisuke threw his hands up. “Let’s just go! This is a pointless conversation!”

“Yeah! Yeah! I wanna see the look on Lev’s face when he meets Wakatoshi-san and Satori-san!” Hinata exclaimed, looking enthusiastic. 

“Wait, isn’t Waka making lunch?” Morisuke asked.

“Indeed. I believe he is preparing hot sandwiches for everyone.” Keiji stated.

All three living stomachs grumbled.

Kenma was first to go bolting up the path towards the house.

Kuroo, snickering, flew off next to him.

"Run, kitten, run!" He shouted, voice holding the softened edge of teasing mirth.

“Hey! Kenma! No fair!” Morisuke shouted, giving chase with the other ghosts minus Tooru tailing him, kicking up dust from the dirt path

Lev stared after them until Tooru flew clear through his chest.

Shivers wracked his spine and he felt goosebumps travel up his arms. All the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and his entire body went rigid.

Tooru didn’t see any problems, and just stuck his tongue out at him. “C’mon! Hurry up, newbie, or you’ll have to wait for Waka-chan to make another batch!”

He then went flying smoothly up the path, reclined in the air like he wasn't even moving

Lev watched him go for a moment, even as the other translucent figures gliding along with his boyfriend and said boyfriends best friends, before he shuddered, rubbing his arms with his hands. He was trying to shake the feeling of having just been doused in icy cold water.

The frigid metal of the band on his finger brushed up and down his skin, but he paid it no mind.

“That was cold..." He groaned, before he shook his head and dropped his arms to his side.

"Gonna have to get used to that!"

He exclaimed to no one in particular, before picking up his feet and running after the yakuza ghost who was now only barely still in sight.

As he ran, he left the forest, the city, and his days living in the light far behind him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we have it! The ghosts are flying, the demons are cooking, the necromancers are running, and Lev is so beyond confused it's gonna be so much fun! Please drop a comment below, they help Lev get used to his WHOLE NEW WOOOOORLD *that won't be the last time I use that joke* and please leave kudos if you haven't been here before!!! Thanks so much for reading!


	21. Meeting the Family {Staffs, Axes, and Bows not Included}

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Picking up right where we left off! Time for Lev to meet the family as the newest member of the 'seeing' society!  
> Please enjoy~

**_Yaku Family House_ **

 

Lev made it to the house just as Kenma had already vanished inside and Morisuke was stood in the doorway as all the ghosts went diving through the wall. 

Morisuke hopped up onto the door jam and waved to his boyfriend.

“Come on in.” He said, smiling before he disappeared behind the door.

Lev took a deep breath. 

This entire time he’d known Morisuke, ever since the event with the thunderstorm, he’d wondered what the inside of his massive three story home was like. 

_Time to find out._

He resolved as he stepped through the door, shutting it behind him.

“Whoa.” He said softly.

Whatever he was expecting, this was not it. 

The place was an absolute _tornado_ , and compared to Lev’s apartment, where he was expected to keep everything in it’s place or suffer the consequences, it was _madness_. Jackets were piled atop the end of the black banister that looked like it needed a good polishing. The stairs were cluttered with shoes, and the wood had grains of dirt and smears of mud that it appeared no one was in a rush to clean up. Lev even recognized Morisuke’s volleyball sports bag lying next to them all. The walls were painted with faded dark purple and the molding on the floor and ceiling appeared to just be whatever pieces found that would fit, in mismatched colors and shapes. The living room had chalk all over the floor, with couches that had wood carved dragon heads for feet and equally beautifully carved wings for armrests.

Propped up by the couch was the staff Lev had seen Morisuke’s sister with in the park, and an intricately carved bow an arrow adorned with scarves and rings with a blood red bowstring lay as if tossed on the seat. There was a large TV in the back corner with a mess of cables all knotted and plugged into the wall. On the ground a massive magic circle was half finished, and several plastic zip bags of paint and art supplies lay at the foot of the fireplace. The mantel held what looked like severed horns of a beast, translucent off white liquid in a stoppered bottle with a ribbon tied atop it, and a creepy looking mannequin head with what looked like a priceless diadem perched on it’s artificial locks.

The kitchen was where it all appeared to be going down, though. Just around the corner, looking out into the living room. The kitchen had all the ghosts in it, and Lev recognized Morisuke’s brother and sister both leaning on the side wall.

The ghosts were all crowding the airspace behind the stools, and Kenma was already perched on the far stool. Morisuke was sat on the middle stool and he waved Lev over.

Tooru was watching his face with a raised eyebrow, waiting for a reaction.

He got one alright.

Lev sat down and lifted his head to greet who he assumed would be Morisuke’s mother or perhaps another set of ghosts in the kitchen when he locked eyes with Satori.

The demon waved with claw like nails, smiling with fanged teeth.

“Yo!” He exclaimed.

Lev looked up at the thin pointed horns, then down to the arrow tipped tail, and made a soft sound like a dying cat.

Tooru smothered laughter behind his palm and Kuroo seemed equally amused when Wakatoshi turned around. 

“Ah, you must be the soon to be boyfriend that is now a boyfriend. Pleasure to meet you. I hope you and my youngest master will have a long and bountiful relationship.” He bowed.

“WAKA!” Morisuke shouted, looking peeved as laughter broke across the kitchen.

Ushijima blinked. “Was that first statement of mine impolite? If so, I deeply apologize.”

He didn’t sound repentant at _all._

“YOU SHOULD!” Morisuke roared.

Oikawa giggled, looking all to entertained by this situation.

“Is he...a...devil?” Lev asked uncertainly.

“What!? I am not the _devil!_ ” Satori shouted, putting a hand to his chest like he’d been deeply offended.

Lev exhaled with relief.

“I’m just one of his old servants, he got kinda pissy when he found out me and Waka were gay and in love so he exiled us to the human world. Morisuke’s Mom took us in and gave a new contract.” Satori finished with a lazy flick of his wrist.

“Wait, what?” Lev asked, eyes bugging.

“And now they live in our basement and make us tea and cookies and sandwiches And call us their master's and mistress's. But only if they want something.” Yaku hummed as he thanked Wakatoshi for the sandwich he’d just slid across the countertop to the youngest of the family.

"Hey, I've called you that before without wanting anything!" Satori exclaimed.

"Name one time." Mei challenged from the wall.

Satori scoffed. "Easy, in the Underground when..."

"When you _weren't_ copying Waka to make yourself look like an equally good servant." Shin tacked on.

Satori paused for a moment.

 _"Shit."_ He hissed.

"Point proven." Morisuke said bluntly before taking a large bite from his sandwich.

Lev seemed to simply sit for a moment to take this in.

“Um...Mori?”

“Yeah?” Morisuke asked, cheeks stuffed with food.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had demons in your basement?”

Morisuke shrugged. “You never asked me what I had in my basement.”

Lev looked at him incredulously.

“But...but...how is that even ok?”

Morisuke looked up at him. “I mean, they’re not demons in the sense that they’re bad anymore. They just...used to be. Sort of. I mean, they didn’t exactly get a choice.”

Satori dropped a plate with a sandwich on it in front of Lev and then took the remaining half from his own plate, taking a large bite out of it before speaking. “Yeah...burn in hellfire and all that...he’s not the most forgiving employer, but when you’re literally born into the service, you don’t have a choice.”

Ushijima glanced over. “Well, except for rising, but that within itself is an extremely difficult and dangerous endeavor. We barely made it with our lives.”

Satori hummed. “Yeah, yeah! Remind me to tell you the story about how we met Ikumi-san later!”

“Speaking of Ikumi-san...where is she? Her food will get cold.” Wakatoshi asked, looking up from where he was pressing another batch of sandwiches.

Right on time, Ikumi came striding into the kitchen, axe casually slung over his shoulder. “Ah, I’ll take mine to go, Waka. Just got word of a few dark faye who didn’t make it back within the seal in the forest in time. I’m going to go collect their wings.”

As Lev stared in absolute unadulterated terror at the massive axe with literally dozens of scarves, rings, and carvings on it's thick shaft and gleaming double edged blade, all three of the Yaku children practically sprung in their mothers direction. 

“Oh! I wanna come!” Mei exclaimed, bouncing.

Shin put his hand up to show he wanted too as well.

“Yeah, me too!” Morisuke exclaimed.

“What?” Lev demanded, looking down at him.

He didn’t get any sort of answer though.

“No way. You three aren’t anywhere near experienced enough to take down one dark faye with all three of you, much less a group of them.” 

All three of them wilted. “Aw...when are we gonna be experienced enough? You say it every year! Next Blood Moon even Mori’s gonna be an adult!”

Ikumi heaved a sigh. “You know I wasn’t allowed to go on a single hunt without my parents or some other person to assist me until I was twenty six! It was just too dangerous! Even my parents would always go together, or my father would go with his brother, or my mother would go with her brother. It’s extremely dangerous to hunt alone, no matter what you’re after. Remember, be it a...”

“...manticore or griffin or vampire in black, always have someone watching your back...” 

All three of them recited in dull monotone.

“Correct!”

“But we’d have you watching our backs! And each other! C’mon, Mom.” 

Mei whined.

“No. Maybe next time I go after some lesser creatures, but not faye. They are intelligent, evil, and extremely dangerous.”

“Then why don’t you have someone watching you back!? Manticore or griffin and all that!” Morisuke retaliated.

“I will, I’m taking Satori with me.”

“Yeah, see she’s...wait huh!?” Satori snapped his head to look at the woman.

“You heard me.”

The redhead groaned.

“But I’m hungry...” He looked at his half eaten sandwich desperately.

“You can eat and walk. Come on, chop chop.”

“Right...”

The demon dragged his feet all the way over to the door, and on his way out he shot a glare at Mei.

 _"...Mistress."_ He said the word tauntingly, and in response Mei stuck her tongue out at him.

He then stomped on with all the grace of a toddler in the throws of a temper tantrum, digging through the pile of shoes on the stairs to fine his own boots.

Ikumi waved her slender fingers.

“You all stay out of trouble, ok? Maybe have some fun explaining things to the new kid.” She delivered a strike to the back of Lev’s head on her way out.

“What was that for?” He mumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

“Tough love is our Mother’s speciality.” Mei sighed.

Morisuke took another, rather violent, bite of his sandwich. “This is _so_ unfair! I’m not even pursing hunting very seriously and I can still beat a pack of gremlins without any help!”

Kenma shook his head. “You guys need to relax. Why are you in such a rush to get more chores?”

Mei huffed. “It’s different! This is about pride! We can’t have our Mom always keeping us out of the big leagues!”

Shin gave two nods in agreement.

Morisuke frowned. “Yeah, but then, are any of us willing to actually go out, find dark faye, and fight them without her permission?”

All three shuddered. “No way.”

“She’d kill us even if we came back with the wings, and not a scratch.” Shin said flatly.

Morisuke pointed at him. “Exactly!”

Lev dropped his head into his palms, and somehow the ring didn't even register. It had warmed on close contact with his skin, and now, really, he barely even felt it there.

“I am so confused.” He sounded agonized.

Kenma reached around Morisuke and gave the towering boy a single gentle pat on the elbow.

“Don’t worry.”

He said with an air of understanding.

“You’ll get used to it.”

Lev looked wearily over to his upperclassman.

"Really, Kenma-san?"

He then dropped his attention back to his PSP.

"You know. Eventually."

Lev's forehead struck the countertop with a resounded _thud._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! Please drop a comment, they help Satori survive THE HUNT, and please leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks so so so much for reading! :D


	22. Worth it All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're gonna pick up the shippy moments you all clicked into here for!!! :D   
> Please enjoy~

**_That Evening._ **

 

“No! I want to talk to him without any of you around! If I catch you stalking us, I’ll kill you all over again!” Morisuke shouted as he shooed the ghosts back towards the house.

Complaining all the way, they said goodbye to Lev and vanished through the walls into the massive home one by one.

Yaku sighed heavily as he snapped his fingers.

The front door, which one of the ghosts had blown open, slammed shut and locked in a cacophony of clicks, and the fence gate closed as well.

Morisuke then hurried down to hill to Lev. “Ok, ready to go?” 

Lev smiled awkwardly. “You really don’t have to walk back with me.”

Yaku waved a hand. “Of course I do! After all you dealt with today? Things are going to look a lot different...and I don’t want anything to happen too you while you still don’t know what to do about it.”

The half Russian looked concerned. “So will things just up and attack me now?” 

Morisuke shook his head. “Rarely. The chances of coming across a monster not only intelligent enough to know you can see it, but also bloodthirsty enough to attack are slim to none. As long as you don’t announce yourself as a seer, the majority of the creatures should leave you alone. I mean, fairies, and the occasional faye if you're near the forest will talk to you, recognizing you can see them, but they aren't violent. They're kind, and gentle by nature. If you see a faye with black veins in their wings though...”

Morisuke shuddered. "Run like hell."

Lev nodded softly, tucking away all this information to pour over later while he laid in bed unable to sleep.

“Ok...so...when are you going to school me over all this stuff?”

Morisuke hesitated. “I dunno, I’m free all day tomorrow, if want to hang around the house. Mom will probably be gone, but Shin will definitely be there. Mei might go out for a walk or shopping or something, but she’ll be home for most the day too.”

The silver haired boy looked determined. “I want to learn as much as I can, even if I can’t do the stuff you do when you snap your fingers?”

Morisuke sniggered, putting his fist up to cover his mouth.

Lev looked down at him, not understanding. “What’s so funny?”

Yaku smiled up at him, and Lev decided to pointedly ignore how his heart skipped a beat.

Because _dammit_ no ones smile had ever been able to affect him this way, but when Morisuke smiled at him, it still just blew him away.

“Do me a favor, snap your fingers.” 

The boy looked dubiously down at him before he did just that.

A spark of silver light burst from his fingertips, and it hovered for a moment, as if primed to be given orders, before it faded away.

Morisuke laughed till he cried at the absolutely dumbfounded look on Lev’s face.

“So...I can do magic?” He asked slowly.

The auburn haired third year had to pause in his walking to wipe a tear from his eye. “Yes, of course you can. The reason normal people can’t is because the light in their soul blocks them from _all_ forms of magical ability. From the outside, or the inside. Seers have no such barrier, which is why most of them choose to become necromancers.”

Lev furrowed his brow. “Aren’t you just automatically a necromancer if you can see?”

Morisuke put a finger up.

“Not necessarily. At least, how I know it is that you are a necromancer if you make a living doing necromancer specific things. There are three basic types of necromancers.”

He tapped a finger to his lips. “Ok, take Shin, Mei, and my Mom. They’re all hunter necromancers. They hunt creatures with bounties and sell the resources they gather, like horns, meat, blood, teeth, furs and stuff like that. When they defeat monsters that pose threats to humans, they can also get a reward from above, but it’s not always guaranteed. The big guy upstairs can be a little finicky, and certain things such as location, weapon style, or other specifics can throw him off from sending you a reward. Kenma and I are both possession necromancers. We specialize in assisting the dead in moving on to the other side. We always get rewards from the big guy upstairs, because no matter what he’s always grateful when you help one of the ones who is lost make it to the pretty place up there.”  
Morisuke pointed to the darkening sky with this.

Lev nodded along, enthralled with all this new information.

“Ok, so what’s the third type?” He prompted.

Morisuke was happy to oblige. “They’re casting necromancers. While all necromancers cast on a certain level, casting necromancers use their spells and potions to make goods to sell. They’re the ones who buy the resources from the hunters, and then, they sell their potions and spell scrolls to seers at large. Possession necromancers tend to be the wealthiest, but it takes a really long time to get good at possession. I’m still only so so at it, but a real pro can get ghosts in and up there within days or even hours. Not all of them are as easy as that little boy you saw me with on Blood Moon.”

Lev seemed to grasp this, and made a list in his head. “Ok, possession necromancers help ghosts, casting necromancers make goods, and hunter necromancers...hunt. Right?”

Morisuke gave him an ‘a-ok’ gesture.

“Bingo.”

They kept walking for a while, until they arrived at the front gate of the apartment complex.

Lev stared up at the building, and weirdly enough, it felt so cramped and small all of the sudden. 

Now that he knew there was so much else out there, it was hard to think of just going inside and greeting his sister like it was any other day. 

“I’d better head back.” Morisuke’s voice snapped him back into reality, and he looked down to the smaller boy.

“Oh, ok! Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow right?”

Morisuke nodded. “Sure, come as early as you like.” 

He replied, waving as he took a step back.

_Somethings missing...something should happen today. I want it to happen today..._

Lev felt his heart leap into his throat.

He took a single step forward, leaned in, and just brushed Mori’s lips with his own.

Yaku stood there with his face on fire and eyes blanked out with shock as Lev stutter stepped back and promptly bolted to the gate.

“Thanks for everything, Mori!” He shouted as he raced through and into the building.

He didn’t stop running until he was inside the elevator and on his way up.

The first year leaned back against the silvery wall and put his fingers to his lips.

_Did I really just do that?  
_

His mind was reeling.

When he reached the top floor he hurried to the hallway window, and, upon gazing out, he saw Morisuke having just now turned and started slowly walking back up the sidewalk.

This, before something much bigger caught his eye.

Ghosts were flying here and there in the skies, right in plain sight. He hadn’t known there was a unicorn that occasionally grazed in the communal garden, and there were little fairy lights of blue, pink, gold and red all floating about, clustered around flower bushes or trees. 

Somehow, the world felt so much brighter now that he’d lost his light. 

He looked down to his right hand, at the ring glittering darkly there, with it’s gold and onyx black intertwined. 

He gave it an experimental tug. 

It didn’t so much as shift, he felt no friction against his skin. It was as if the ring had grown into him, become a part of his hand.

A part of _him._

Lev lifted his head and gazed out at the world filled with new things he’d never have known about had he continued to walk on the opposite side of the line than his boyfriend.

He touched his lips again.

_Worth it._

He thought.

_This is all definitely worth it._

With this he turned and hurried to his apartment door. The jangle of keys in the lock echoed out before he went inside.

“Alisa, I’m back!” He called.

“Ah, Lyovochka, you were out late! Where were you?”

Lev smiled to his older sibling. “At Mori...Yaku-san’s house! We were out all day practicing, so when we were on the way back, he and his family invited me to stay for dinner! His mother is a really good cook.” 

He put a hand to his stomach with a lick of his lips.

“That’s great! I’m glad you and him get along so well, you really seem to like each other.” Alisa wiggled an eyebrow in his direction, having obviously caught his slip up when he’d said his upperclassman’s name.

Lev laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head as he edged his way around Alisa and backed towards his bedroom.

“Yeah...uh...about...that...I...” He struggled.

She smiled and winked at him.

“Oh, don’t even bother, brother dearest...I just happened to have been looking out the window, oh, I’d say fifteen minutes ago?” 

She glanced at the electric clock in the kitchen with fake innocence on her face.

Lev turned and ran for his room.

“GET BACK HERE I WANT DETAILS!”

“ALISA NO! PLEASE!”

“ARE YOU DATING!? DID SOMETHING HAPPEN TODAY!? WAS THAT A SPONTANEOUS THING!? LYOVOCHKA TELL ME!” 

“STAY AWAY!”

Even though he wound up having to explain the light side of his newfound relationship to his sister, Lev still wouldn’t take back what he’d thought so intensely earlier.

That is, that this was worth it. 

All it, definitely worth it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! Please drop a comment, they help Lev escape his sister, and please leave kudos if you haven't been here before! I hope you enjoyed it and please read again next time!


	23. Dressing Up to go Under

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I probably should have tried to show off some of the early moments in Lev learning and try to take advantage of that to world build but...all the stuff that I REALLY want to show off involves skipping ahead a bit soooooo yup! Hope you enjoy the chapter! :D

**_Saturday, one month later._ **

 

Lev’s brain had been working double time for the past four weeks, but it was easily the best four weeks of his life. He’d been spending just about every spare moment possible at the Yaku’s house, watching movies with his boyfriend when none of his family members were home, looking through the curious objects that decorated the halls of the massive house.

He’d learned so much from Satori and Ushijima about the history behind necromancers and seers, and their relationships with other intelligent magical races.

{Did you know there was a Great War between Centaurs and Necromancers, and the Corrupted Faye that forced them into containment fields around the world that they can only escape from to create chaos on the Blood Moon? Or that Centaurs and Necromancers are actually really great friends, and so are the peaceful Faye that aren't corrupted?}

Enough, at least, that he thought he wouldn’t sound like a total idiot if someone were to start talking to him under the pretense that he was a fellow seer. He’d also managed to figure out just where he stood in his relationships, not only with Morisuke, but with the ghosts, demons, and most importantly, the rest of the Yaku family. 

Altogether, they seemed thrilled to have him along, even though he was pretty sure he’d be turned into an arrow pincushion shortly followed by being beat with a staff and decapitated with a giant axe if he were to do anything to make Morisuke upset as he had the same day he’d had the light taken from his soul.

It sounded like such a bad thing, when it was put like that, when in reality, Lev was reasonably sure it was the best thing to have happened to him his entire life.

That is, with the drawback that his phone was currently buzzing wildly on his glass nightstand. 

His room was just as modern and space saving designed as the rest of his apartment. He wasn’t allowed to have posters on the walls, his father claimed they ruined the paint job, and any clothes he intended on leaving out were expected to be either hung or folded. 

As such, his room was pristine, other than the slight mess of papers on his metal and glass topped desk from the homework he’d been working on the previous night. 

He blinked groggily as the awful rattle of his phone against the glass brought him back into the land of the living.

Groaning, he put a hand to his face and squinted at the clock.

_5:30? Who’s calling me at 5:30 in the morning on a Saturday?_

He turned his eyes down to the phone and it took a second to focus on the name on the screen.

“Eh?”

He swiped to answer and put the phone, still connected to the charger and the wall, and collapsed back onto his pillow.

“Mori? What is it?” He asked, his voice coming out as a sleep drunk croak.

A wave of noise struck his eardrum.

“GOD DAMMIT MORI STOP SLIDING DOWN THE BANISTER! AND NOW YOU’RE ON YOUR PHONE!?”

“MEI JUST FIX YOUR HAIR AND GET KENMA!” 

“MORI DARLING MAKE SURE YOU PACK EVERYTHING FROM BLOOD MOON!”

“ON IT!”

Lev blinked, rubbing at his eyes in an attempt to properly wake up.

“Mori, hello?” He repeated his greeting.

“Lev! Hey! Hi! Sorry, I know it’s early, but what are you doing this weekend?”

Lev didn’t seem to process.

“Doing? I thought I was coming over there at a more reasonable hour?”

“Yes, great, well you’re coming now!”

Lev let out a delayed moan. “What? Why?”

“Remember the Underground I told you about? The Blood Moon market got pushed up a weekend to account for some conflicting hunting seasons, so we’re going now! Our flight leaves at six thirty, how fast can you get here?”

Lev sat bolt right up, his phone yanking free of the cable attaching it to the wall.

“The Underground? You mean that edge of time and space place you were talking about?”

“That’s the one! But you’ve gotta get here fast, don’t worry, Mom’s already got you something to wear, just throw on some sweats and run over here, ok?”

Lev scrambled out of bed, feeling wide awake all of the sudden.

“Right, got it! Be there soon!”

He tripped over his sheets all the way to the bathroom.

He showered, brushed his teeth, and got dressed all in record time. Still with slightly wet hair and bolted into the main living area of the apartment and snagged the pen off the notepad hung on the fridge. The only thing on the pure object of stainless steel.

He hurriedly scribbled a note to his sister, making up a lie about a camping trip to explain why he wouldn’t have service. Then he snatched an empty bag from the closet, in case he needed something to carry clothes in, and headed out.

He was in such a rush he ran down the stairs of his apartment building, without even thinking how it was probably faster to take the elevator. He burst out he front door, fumbled with the gate and finally was out onto the sidewalk.

The fairies in the flower bush next to the gate let out a few squeaks when his bag accidentally struck the leaves.

“Sorry, sorry!” He exclaimed, pressed his palms together in their direction and bowed his head several times in succession before he sprinted off up the street, headed for the dark old home with the high fences up on the hill.

 

**_Yaku Family House._ **

 

The second Lev rang the doorbell, out of breath and panting, the door swung open and he was hauled inside by Satori.

“Great, you're here! MORISUKE COME DRESS YOUR BOYFRIEND!” The demon screamed this over his shoulder.

“DO YOU HAVE TO SAY IT LIKE THAT!?” 

Morisuke screeched as he came rushing around the corner, dark cloak billowing out behind him. The rug slid several feet when he skidded to a halt but he seemed to pay it no mind.

His sister came running out of the living room as well, arms filled with blank scrolls, heels clicking on the dusty black wood.

“Hey, good morning! Come on!” Morisuke exclaimed his greeting shortly, beaming before hauling Lev up three flights of stairs and into his bedroom. 

“Ok, here’s the clothes, put on what you can figure out how to put on, I’ll come help you with the rest. Make it fast!” Morisuke cried, pushing Lev into the room and tossing a drawstring tote bag into his chest.

He then slammed the door shut.

The silver haired boy couldn’t help but take a moment to catch his breath from this whirlwind of activity. He then began to quickly undress and pull open the bag.

A pair of black dress pants.

_Ok, easy enough._

He thought as he pulled up the pants and slid the snappy black belt through the loops, fastening the ancient looking silver belt buckle that appeared to have a lion’s head carved into it.

Out next came a purple dress shirt with silver cufflinks.

_I’ve never done cufflinks...? Guess I’ll ask Mori to do them for me._

He thought as he button the shirt up and tucked it into his pants.

Out next came a black suit jacket.

_Ok, also easy._

He shrugged it on.

Finally, a simple black ribbon.

_I’m guessing this is a tie?  
_

He assumed as he slid the ribbon around his neck under the collar of his dress shirt.

“Done yet? Hope so, cause I’m coming it!” Morisuke barged into the room.

“What’s the big rush for?” Lev demanded, stooping from the back slightly to look down at him.

Yaku’s eyes widened look at him for a moment.

“What? What? Did I put something on inside out?” He demanded, looking down. 

Everything appeared to be fine. 

Morisuke shook his head.

“No no, you look...nice.” He admitted.

Lev blinked. “Oh. Ok? Thanks! So, like I asked, what’s the rush?” 

Morisuke grabbed one of his hands and started to do the cufflinks.

“The flight leaves in two minutes, we need to be ready to load all our things on Guila and leave by then! There, ok, get down here!”

He reached up and pulled Lev down in order to do the ribbon into a bow at his neck.

For a moment his fingers lingered on the edges of the collar and Lev didn’t try to straighten back up.

“Is something wrong with it, or..?”

A feather light kiss struck his lips. 

“Mom got you shoes downstairs, and a hood too, I’ll help you put it on, now let’s go, come on!”  Morisuke had gone red in the face at his own actions before he vanished out the door and jumped up onto the banister, sliding out of sight.

“MORI I SWEAR TO GOD GET DOWN!” 

He heard Mei screaming from somewhere down below.

Lev came thundering down the stairs just in time to see Kenma come running around the corner.

They bumped into each other, thankfully not to harshly. “Hey, Kenma-san! You’re coming too?”

Kenma was in the process of sliding two bobby pins into an X shape in his bangs. He'd begun wearing his hair like this more often ever since their last visit to the Underground. Morisuke had a sneaking suspicion he knew why he'd suddenly begun shopping around for different cute little pins for his bangs, but didn't bring it up in fear he'd ruin the timid way Kenma was emerging from his shell.

“Yeah.” He said before he edged around Lev and ran towards the door.

“Hey, I heard Guila got a new saddle with an extra seat to each row! Apparently Jacob’s European trips were getting to crowded!” Mei chattered excited as she carried several bags out into the backyard.

Lev looked around at the foot of the stairs before finding a pair of combat boots that could only be for him. 

He pulled them on and hurriedly tied the laces. 

While he was hunched over a dark shadow overtook his sight and something came fluttering down onto his back.

A hood slouched over his head and Morisuke was suddenly right in front of him.

Three silver buttons were secured under his neck in a heartbeat.

“There you go! Now you’re looking like a proper necromancer!”

Morisuke encouraged with a smile, his own hood tied with a thick red ribbon under his chin.

Lev laughed. “You think so?” He asked, taking ahold of either side of the large cape of the cloak and flapping like a massive bat.

Morisuke giggled, fingers slipping up in an attempt to hide it, and Lev swore it was the cutest thing he’d ever seen.

“Ok, lovebirds! Time to stop flirting and start flying! It’s the best time of the month, and we get it twice this time!”

Tooru came spiraling through the wall, grinning ear to ear. Lev and Morisuke instantly sprung apart, both flushing varying degrees of red.

“Yeah, hurry, please! Don’t make poor Jacob upset by setting back his schedule all over again!” Koushi exclaimed, shooting through on his way to the backyard.

“Got it! C’mon, let’s go, the demons already got everything else!" Morisuke seized Lev’s hand and pulled him towards the back door.

“Ok, so how do you get there? What are we flying on? Some sort of pla...” Lev asked.

The question died in his throat when they made it out the back door.

A massive scaly lizard, no, a _dragon_ , was sat similar to how he’d seen his kitten lazing around, in the back of his boyfriend’s house. 

The large, round, expressive eyes flitted over to him, the the nostrils of the beast flared before it lowered it’s head to rest on it’s front legs.

“Yaku-san, you’re holding up the fun all over again!”

Came a snarky voice from the saddle, and Lev looked up to see a glasses wearing young blonde sat beside a dozing brunette, both strapped worrying securely to the seats with strong looking harnesses.

“Is that...a...” 

Morisuke grinned up at him.

“Remember, you’re a necromancer too!” He winked before he ran towards the dragon.

“Shut up, Tsukishima! Just because you’re always perfectly on time with not a hair out of place doesn’t mean everyone else is!” Yaku shouted.

Kenma rolled clumsily over the edge of the saddle and fell to the floor inside.

Lev was relieved to see there was no right way to mount the dragon, but no doubt he'd manage his own entrance less than gracefully.

Morisuke jumped up, latched onto the edge of the saddle, and did a pull up, throwing a leg over the side, and swung over.

“C’mon, Lev!” He waved to the silver haired boy.

Swallowing, Lev came, and after a slight struggle, he managed his way into the saddle.

“What’s this, Yaku-san? You made another friend? Wow, and I thought Kenma-san was impressive.” Tsukishima snickered.

Morisuke rolled his eyes. “Oh, like you’re mister popular. You’re lucky Yamaguchi has a taste for salt.”

It was now that the brunette straightened up in his seat, yawning.

“Ugh, are we there yet?” He looked from side to side.

He stared across the yard at Yaku’s house for a moment before groaning. 

“Here I thought I managed to sleep through take off.” Yamaguchi sighed as he slouched in his seat again.

Kenma settled into the seat next to him, hands shooting up to check his cross shape of the two black bobby pins, making certain they were in place before Tadashi's eyes moved instantly to greet his.

“Ah, good morning, Kenma-san! Sure is an early flight, huh?” His mood instantly improved at the sight of the gamer.

Tsukishima rolled his eyes and decided to redirect his gaze back up to the towering half Russian who was awkwardly trying to fit his overlong legs into a comfortable position from his seat on the edge of the saddle.

“Who’s he? Did you meet another family?” Tadashi asked, looking over to him.

Morisuke hummed. “Yeah, this is Haiba Lev, he’s new to this whole seer thing.”

He then looked up to Lev, hiding his mouth with his hand. 

“The sweet one is Yamaguchi Tadashi, the sour one is Tsukishima Kei.”

Tsukishima raised an eyebrow, glossing over the ‘sour’ comment.

“How can he be _new_ , exactly? Seeing isn’t exactly something you take up at a weekend tutorial.”

Tooru suddenly popped his head up from the side where Kei was sat on the opposite edge, managing to give the blonde a spook as he did so.

“Lev-chan is Mori-chan boyfriend, and Mori-chan’s Mom suggested giving him this ring that makes him see like you guys! They're in _looooove!_ ” The ghost gushed.

Tsukishima looked back over to the two of them with a mirthful grin. “Oh, _boyfriend_ , huh?”

Morisuke sank low in his seat and pulled his hood down over his face.

“Tooru, what the hell?” He hissed.

Lev looked down at him blankly, trying to figure if he’d done something wrong.

“Uh, yeah...” He then glanced back up at the other two fellow first years.

“It’s really weird, but that’s the truth. I’ve been able to see like you guys can for about a month now.”

Tadashi looked concerned. “So this is your first time on a dragon?”

Lev never thought he’d be asked that question in his life. “Yeah, it is. I didn’t actually know how you got to this market place. Mori sort of just leaves out things that aren’t necessarily important at the time.”

Yaku shot up, glaring at him. “I’ve been doing nothing but telling you just about everything I know, so what if I happened to leave out the dragons!?”

Kei sighed. “Stop with the yelling, already, it’s too early for this. Just strap your cell phone tower of a boyfriend down before Jacob gets irritated and takes off without any warning.”

Yaku groaned. “Fine.” He reached across to Lev’s seat, fastening to buckles over his chest and his waist, and over both shoulders, then pulling them snug.

“Why do you have to be strapped in so well? Please don’t tell me it goes upside-down or something?” Lev asked, suddenly looking a little pale at the thought.

“Oh, Guila going upside-down is the least of your worries.” Tsukishima clearly had no intention of making Lev feel welcome in their group quite yet.

Morisuke pulled the straps of his own harness tight and looked over to Kenma.

“All set?” He asked.

“You mean to leave my stomach in your backyard and scream my lungs out? Always.” The setter replied.

Tadashi laughed softly. “Geez, everyone is so salty when they're sleep deprived and grumpy.”

Yaku crossed his arms. “What are you talking about? I’ve never spent a day with Tsukishima where he passed up even a single chance for a sarcastic comment.”

The playful bickering continued, and Lev was too busy marveling at his boyfriend in his element to try and insert himself into the conversation. 

_At school Mori’s always awkward and uncomfortable...even at practice he never really speaks openly, and even if someone says something rude about him, or starts being mean, he never bothers to shoot back. Here...this is where he belongs. These are his friends, wearing their uniforms, all talking about stuff I can barely even understand despite all that Mori taught me over the past few weeks. This is his clique...the people he choses to surround himself with...I'm so glad I get to see him like this, finally._

Lev looked back out across the yard towards the house, then down at the ground. He was only now realizing just how large this dragon was.

“Hey, so how long does it take to get there?” He decided he might as well ask, now that it had been made clear he wasn't experienced in dragon riding.

Tadashi shrugged. “About an hour? Half an hour to forty five minutes to the portal safe zone, and another fifteen minutes or sometimes more to land.”

Lev nodded. “Ok, not to bad.”

“Everyone ready?” Jacob shouted over his shoulder.

“As ready as we’ll ever be.” Morisuke heard his mother grumble from the front row. She wasn’t a huge fan of the take off either. 

“Let’s fly!” Mei exclaimed cheerfully, she loved the dragon rides, from take off to portals to landing.

Morisuke tightened his grip on the sides of his chair. “Alright, girl, let’s get going.”

Jacob patted Guila on the side of the neck, giving her a soft scratch before he tugged on the leather straps that attached to the base of her horns.

She could easily rip them off, and Jacob couldn’t really reel her in with them, he’d have to use magic from his staff for that, but the reigns allowed him to guide her and give her different signals for what to do.

“See you in a few days, guys!” Satori shouted from the ground, where he waved with his other hand twined with Wakatoshi’s fingers.

The ghosts all clustered behind them.

“We’ll meet you there!” Suga shouted, legs swinging out in front of him.

The dragon stood, shaking out her massive leathery wingspan.

She pawed at the ground for a moment, getting good footing.

Lev felt anxious during these few moments while the dragon prepped herself.

Then, it was all biting cold wind, the violent strength of it tearing into his skin and rushing through his hair. The saddle went nearly vertical as the dragon shot straight upwards, moving quickly to avoid any chance of being seen by the normal peoples eyes. 

While it wouldn’t be seen, the flying saddle full of people would have been a little difficult to explain, wouldn’t it?

It was over as quickly as it had begun, the saddle leveling out, the dragon beginning to bear them along at a rapid speed through the sky.

He didn’t even have to look down to realize that he’d grabbed Morisuke’s hand the second they’d started taking off.

His first instinct was to rip his hand away, but on second thought, it really didn’t seem that Yaku minded, and the other three either hadn’t taken notice of them holding hands, or didn’t care.

Then, Kenma and Tadashi were holding hands too.

“Wait, Kenma-san? I didn’t know you were dating a necromancer!” 

Lev exclaimed, his voice cracking the moment of stunned silence that always hung after a take off.

Morisuke and Kei both broke down into fits of unsuccessfully smothered laughter while Kenma and Tadashi went bright red.

“No no no!” Tadashi pulled his hand away.

“Yeah, no, no, we aren’t, no, we aren’t dating...” Kenma mumbled this as he smoothed down his hair.

Lev picked up on how Kenma sounded a bit sad at how harsh Yamaguchi’s reaction and denial had been, and realized this might not be a good subject to press on. 

Conversation rapidly picked back up from where ever it had been before taking off. Tsukishima was talking about collecting a single set dark faye wings with Tadashi, Yaku went nearly green with envy at the fact that they’d been allowed to go hunt them, even if they’d been accompanied by Tsukishima’s mother, Yamaguchi’s father, and Akiteru as well.

Lev gazed out over the edge of the saddle.

“Wow...” He murmured, watching the lights of the still sleeping city flicker from far below.

It really was beautiful.

He looked back to watch Morisuke continue to complain quietly yet fiercely about how his mother still wouldn’t allow him to go hunt any higher level intelligent creatures. 

_It’s nice to see him so comfortable with other people...I’ve never seen him like this before._

If the Underground was really as Morisuke had described it, it made Lev extremely curious. He was eager to see what it was like, but even more than that, he was eager to see what Morisuke was like when he was there. He always explained his lack of a social life and dislike of mingling with others about school by saying he didn’t like hanging around a ton of people who thought he was crazy. It was just uncomfortable to him.

However, in this weird little chunk of land on the edge of time and space, as Lev understood it, Morisuke _wasn’t_ crazy. He was perfectly normal, just another face in the crowd.

_More like...a place where everyone is crazy._

Did that make Lev crazy too? 

If it did, he found that it wouldn’t really bother him all that much at all.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now~ I had so much fun writing this chapter with Lev being dragged in and dressed up just yessss! :D Next chapter will be pretty fun, and after that I promise we will do some more world building because...I mean, you guys saw the underground! It's crazy down/up/at/where ever there is! For now though, please drop a comment, they help Lev not get dragon-sick, and please leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks so much for reading!


	24. Seeing each Other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been gone for a hot minute, tho then again it's been what...a little over a week? Not bad, not bad. Just had a lil trouble in the real world, and I've been working on another lil project that I may or may not be revealing within the next month. Maybe? Dunno. CHECK THE BOTTOM NOTES FOR MORE UPDATES!  
> Please enjoy~

 

 

**_On Guila._ **

 

“Ugh! See what you’ve done, Ikumi, being late again?” Jacob shouted over his shoulder.

Morisuke’s mother threw his arms into the air. “We were on board right on time! No way you’re pinning this on us!” 

“Yeah, normally it is our fault, but this time we were ready to go, and in record time might I add, not out fault!” Mei pitched in.

Tsukishima straightened in his seat a bit.

“What’s happening?” He called up to the front.

Jacob moaned, slapping a hand to his face.

“The portal safe zone got moved with the next rotation already...we’re going to be in the air for another hour at the _least._ ” 

A tandem of groans echoed about and even the dragon seemed peeved at the extra work, huffing a breath of smoke from her nostrils.

Jacob blew at his light brown bangs in frustration before pulling the brim of his newsboy cap down a bit further.

“Alright, alright, everyone better get comfy. We’re off to the next prefectures  safe zone...and if we miss this one, we’ll have no choice but pick up the pace and head for Hong Kong.”

“Hong Kong?” Lev asked, looking horrified.

“Yeah, we had to do that once. It was raining too, and oh, it _sucked._ ” Yamaguchi exclaimed, putting a hand up with a smile.

Morisuke smiled as he leaned back against the seat, neck settling into the cradle of support there.

_They seem to be getting along..._

He thought, feeling relieved. For some unknown reason, he was rather happy to have the deadly duo of sarcasms approval of his boyfriend. 

Well, Tsukki was still up in the air, but really, if Tadashi liked someone, it was kind of a given that Kei would warm up to them eventually.

“So, have you guys known each other for a long time?” Lev directed this to Tsukishima and Yamaguchi.

“Only since we were born.” Kei said, seeming to have a slightly positive outlook on this at least.

“Yeah! My Dad and his Mom are like, really good friends. They’ve known each other since they were born. Our families have been working together for centuries!”

“Lucky.” Kenma said flatly, glancing up from his gameboy. He was taking advantage of the time they spent still out in the real world, as he was still able to use technology. It would all become null and void once they crossed over into the Underground.

“Hey, you know, you’ve never told me how you met him yet, Mori.” 

Yaku gave an exaggerated sigh. “It’s a dumb story.”

“It’s an adorable story!” Mei protested from the row ahead.

“SHUT UP!” Yaku shouted at her.

“I like it, I think it’s a nice story. Right, Tsukki?” Yamaguchi whipped his head over to Kei.

“I guess.” Tsukishima replied blandly.

“Now I really wanna hear it!” Lev exclaimed eagerly.

Kenma threw his head back with a barely there sigh as the ‘victory’ theme played from the tinny speakers of his handheld.

He then shut the old thing and placed it in his lap.

The bottle blonde glanced over to Morisuke expectantly.

“Fine!” Morisuke threw his arms up in defeat.

“Yay!” Lev cheered.

The auburn haired boy worried his lip for a moment before, finally, he spoke.

“Ok, so let’s just rewind ten years, ok?”

 

**_Ten Years Ago._ **

 

Kenma jumped and sidled to the side as another one of those weird, translucent people went glided above him, scaring him nearly out of his skin. He saw them more often then he liked, and honestly just wished they’d disappear. All his life, they’d been around, but never had he dared call out to any of them, or try to catch their attention. 

They were just too scary.

He’d tried to call attention _to_ them many times. He’d told his parents, his teachers, his classmates, once even a random stranger on the street. None of them listened, and that had turned into how he’d even had to sit in a stupid white room for two hours every month with this boring old man talking to him about his ‘wild imagination’ and how to ‘control it’ or ‘perceive it differently’.

If this _sight_ was something the seven year old raven haired boy could control, he certainly wished he could figure it out already. 

He glanced up tiredly as he watched a trail of fairy lights go flittering into the park he walked by every day on his way home. The pretty little people, girls and boys with paper thin wings, clad in flower petals, all in a line, dancing and singing as they passed through the gates. His parents had had him walking back alone as soon as he could remember the route, and really they didn’t care when he got back as long as it was before dinner.

A full four hours after he got out of the primary schools doors.

He felt tears well up in his eyes as one of those creepy green little elf men popped out of the bushes, giant pointed hat, mustache, beard and all, only to vanish back inside a moment later, dragging a stick he’d collected with him.

Kenma looked out at the cityscape from the gates of the park, and saw a few more slightly glowing, see through people sweep in and out of sight.

Shoulders slouching, he sniffled through his small emotional outburst and made his way into the park.

On the way home just about every day, he stopped to sit on the lonely swing set. It was his own time to look around, observe the creatures apparently only he could see, and settle his thoughts before going along on his way.

Today, however, was different.

Now, occasionally, someone else would be on the swings, however, they tended not to stay too long. Coupled with the fact that Kenma would opt for the small, two person swing set at the back of the park as compared to the larger set on the playground, this left a very low chance of him having company for more than a minute or two.

As such, when he arrived, and scrambled up into his swing, it shocked him when, not long after, a boy who couldn’t be any older than him came along.

He took the unoccupied swing, and the two of them sat in silence, gently swaying for a good three minutes before the boy, with a head of short auburn spikes, spoke.

“Who are you? I see you back here sometimes.” He asked, looking to him curiously.

Kenma looked at him from behind his shadowy bangs and said nothing.

The boy huffed.

“It’s not nice to ignore people!” He reprimanded.

Kenma dropped his gaze to his toes.

“I’m Kenma.” He mumbled finally.

“There we go!” The boy smiled brightly to him.

“I’m Morisuke, maybe we can get along? I don’t have many friends like me.” He admitted.

“Me neither.” Kenma said, lifting his head just enough for Morisuke to make out one of his two molten gold eyes.

They swirled, unreadable, and eventually Morisuke spoke, kicking his feet beneath him as he did so.

“One friend I have was supposed to come meet me here.”

He then looked from side to side, then put a finger to his lips.

“Don’t tell anyone, but he’s not like other people.”

Kenma blinked. “Really? Why not?”

Morisuke put his arms up, gesturing as if to a hulking figure.

“He’s suuuuuper tall! And he has this big red robe that always blows around! Thing is...” 

Morisuke’s head dropped, shoulders drooping, and a saddened expression overtook his face.

“...you won’t be able to see him...only I can see people like him...or at least, that’s what Mom said...”

Kenma looked at him blankly for a moment.

“What?” He asked, shocked.

_Only you can see him? Only you?_

Morisuke shook his head. “I mean, my Mom, and my big brother and big sister can see him...and so can I. But that’s it. There are some other kids I see sometimes, but they don’t live near here...so we aren’t really friends. At least, that’s what Tsukishima says...then, he’s kinda mean for such a little kid. His big brother got all mad at him for it.”  
Kenma now, though, was distracted by a figure swathed in billowing scarlet coming over the hill.

Gliding over the grass almost like a _ghost_ , he came, silent in his approach. His slate gray eyes were sparkling at the sight of the young boy sat on the swing set, and he paused, seeming not to want to ruin his little friends chance at a budding friendship.

Kenma felt a brilliant sort of warmth at the sight of him, and as such, he lifted his arm and pointed.

“Your friend is here.” He said.

Morisuke looked over and let out a soft cry.

“Oh, he is! Hi, Tetsu!” He called, waving.

Meanwhile, the dead samurai’s mouth had fallen open slightly, and it was now that the young necromancer caught up.

“Wait...you can see him?” Morisuke whirled around so face his swing twisted a little bit.

Kenma nodded shyly.

Yaku jumped out of the swing and grabbed him by the hand, pulling him down too.

They stumbled, backpacks and all, over to where the towering ghost was hovering a short distance away.

“He can see you, Tetsu! He can!” Morisuke looked beside himself with joy.

Kuroo looked taken aback before he simply lowered himself so he was lying parallel to the ground, on his stomach.

Except, well, he was lying on air, but you get the point.

“Can you now? What’s your name? How old are you?” Tetsurou asked, his fearful appearance overtaken with a kind voice, warm, soft, and sweet as a fresh baked sponge cake.

“I’m Kozume Kenma...I’m seven.” He finally managed to say.

“Well it’s great to meet you, Kozume-san. I’m Kuroo Tetsurou. I’m twenty one, or at least, I was before I died.”  
For Kenma, this solved a lot.

“You’re a ghost? It’s ghosts I see?” 

Kuroo stilled, looking surprised. “Yes, it is. Don’t your parents see them?”

Kenma shook his head. “No...they send me to an old man who says it’s all in my head, and that I have some sort of condition.”

He spoke this all plainly, with all the bluntness a seven year old should possess.

Kuroo’s smile came back. “Well, I’m sure Morisuke’s mother would be more than happy to teach you all about what you see. She can see them. So can both of Morisuke’s big siblings.”

Kenma blinked, frowning. “I have to go home soon, though...or my parents will yell at me.”

Tetsurou’s brow knitted and he sighed. “Alright...but how about you come back here tomorrow? We’ll be here. Then I’ll help you learn all about what you see, ok?”

Kenma’s face broke into the softest smile, and Kuroo swore if his heart were still beating, it would have melted at the sight.

“Really?” He asked, voice barely a whisper.

“Yeah, yeah! I’ll get my Mom to come, and Shin and Mei too! They’ll all tell you all about everything! Please come tomorrow!” Morisuke insisted, shaking the hand of Kenma’s he was still holding.

The seven year old tilted his head to the side, and his face fixed into a pout.

“But...I have to see the old man tomorrow...” He mumbled.

Kuroo snickered. “You know, with your lips all pinched like that, you look like a little baby kitten.”

Kenma’s eyes widened. “Kitten?” He repeated, looking confused.

Kuroo clapped his softly glowing hands.

“Well, don’t you worry, little Kozume-san, as a samurai I vow to you I will get you out of having to see that old man ever again, ok? So you just count on coming tomorrow, got that?”

Kenma didn’t seem to buy it, but even so nodded his head.

Daring to hope, just a small bit, that this older boy with auburn hair and off brown eyes could possibly become something of a friend.

Maybe, so could this man who had called him a kitten?

With this, Morisuke let go of Kenma’s hand and waved goodbye, already chattering to Kuroo about all the fun things he could show Kenma.

Stuff about hoping to show Kenma his casting scarf collection and teaching him a way of drawing that had the pictures jump from the page was all that the little boy with the long black hair was able to catch.

All of that, and something about becoming best friends forever.

Little did he know, all three of those wishes held within the eight year olds heart, and just as strongly resonated in his own, could, and would, come true.

 

**_Present Day._ **

 

“So yeah. Now we’re like besties, or whatever. The end.” Yaku said dully.

“You were a really excitable kid, huh Mori?”

“Oh yeah.” Kenma supported.

“Sure was.” Yamaguchi chirped.

“Definitely.” Tsukishima hummed.

“Hey!” Morisuke snarled, and all three of them went silent.

“Wait, but then how did Kuroo-san get Kenma-san free from having to go see the psychiatrist the next day?”

Yaku shrugged. “He never told me, did he tell you?”

Kenma frowned. “Well, no, but when I got home that night my parents were both standing in the kitchen hugging each other and shaking head to toe...they both looked petrified. After that, they took me seriously enough about seeing things to leave me completely alone. Honestly, I think they were sort of scared of me. Still are.” 

Yaku gave a low whistle. “He spooked them good, I’m sure. The old katana draw trick.” He laughed.

“Lev fell for that one. Actually thought Tetsu could hurt him.”

Lev threw his arms up. “It was a ghost samurai with a giant sword, what did you _want_ me to think!?” 

As such, the bickering continued, and all the while, they sailed on the back of Guila, the gray scaled, fire breathing dragon, towards the rising run, and as they did, Lev found himself forgetting he was higher in the clouds than any rollercoaster could ever take him.

Yet, despite this being no rollercoaster, he was still in for one hell of a ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aren't tiny Mori and tiny Kenma cute!? Ok but like I said above, just for a quick poll, because I kinda need to know for what I'm doing, who here followed my previous work One Pack? I recognize most everyone but I figured I'd check, you know? Because the lil thing I'm talking about has to do with One Pack, so yup yup! I really appreciate it guys! Thanks so much for reading, please drop a comment, they help Kenma be a happy boy in his wonderful magic world, and please leave kudos! Thanks so much for reading!


	25. Where the Crazy People come to Play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWENTY FIVE CHAPTERS! * Launches confetti cannon*  
> Sorry it's been a lil bit, I had a tad bit of writers block, but not really. I just wanted to get this story out, y'know? Also I've got TWO fun little somethings to announce in the end notes, so if you have time, please check it out after you read the chapter! It's a little short, but I hope you'll enjoy it all the same!  
> Please enjoy~

The ride went peacefully for close to an hour as they coasted across the rapidly brightening sky.

“We made it!” Jacob called back to his passengers, pointing.

Lev lifted his head from where he’d been looking down towards Morisuke and gazed out at what the man was pointing towards.

“Whoa…” He murmured, watching as two other dragons that dwarfed Guila in size, both carrying passengers from around the rest of the country.

They were each easily triple Guila’s size. One was a dark scarlet color with black fangs hanging from his mouth and gnarled dark horns. The other was a pure snowy white, with blue decorating the bottom side of it’s wings and gorgeous  slender blue wings.

“That’s a Scandinavian Angel dragon, isn’t it?” Morisuke commented to Kenma.

The blonde hummed. “Yup. Rare. I didn’t know there was one near here…”

He gazed out at the beast with clear fascination sparkling in those golden eyes.

“The other one is a Scarlet Warbeast. They’re difficult to train, much harder than the Mountain Jumpers, like Guila. So is the Angel. Those drivers must be so skilled. ” 

“Hey!” Jacob shouted over his shoulder.

Tsukki snickered.

“You really like dragons, huh, Kenma-san?”

Kenma hesitated. “I want to train them someday…” He admitted.

“Really?” Yamaguchi gasped. “Why haven’t I heard this! That’s so awesome!”

Kenma smiled softly.

“Yeah?” He asked.

Yamaguchi grinned. “Totally!”

A moment passed as Jacob steered Guila to the side and slightly above the Warbeast. Just one of it’s massive horned wings were the size of her entire body and wingspan. 

“Hey, Atsushi!”  Jacob shouted down against the wind.

“Yo!” The man called, waving with one hand still gripping the reins. He had a long braid of blue hair blowing out behind him in the wind.

He had a red hood about his shoulders and what looked like a strip of leftover cloth from the hood itself tied around his head like a bandana to hold his bangs from his face. He had a single pointed tooth sticking from his mouth, and fingerless gloves to allow him to better grip the reigns. 

It was now that the Angel swept up to the other side. This one’s driver had short spikes of blonde, nearly white hair, with a blue cloak snug about his shoulders. The cross shaped clip in his bangs appeared to be white plastic, and he had mysterious levitating curl above one shoulder. 

“Jacob! Atsushi! You guys ready to open it up?” He shouted up to them, at the same time reaching for the board sword in the scabbard at his side.

“Whenever you are!” Jacob gave a thumbs up.

“Let’s do it!” Atsushi called against the wind, snatching his decorated knife from his belt.

Jacob nodded and lifted his staff.

The three of them aimed their weapons in tandem and soon enough flares were darting across the sky, sketching a massive pattern against the backdrop of the barely risen sun.

Lev squinted against the light, raising his hand to shade his eyes.

A massive magical circle was spiraling in the air, glowing all different colors as it rotated before them. The driver at the front, the one atop the Warbeast, swiped his staff downward and the circle cracked right down the middle, opening inward with a loud creak, as if on a pair of rusty old hinges.

Lev sank into his seat.

“Uh…Mori? Are we…gonna go _through_ that?” He asked, horrified.

Morisuke flashed him a smile.

“Hope you like roller coasters.”

Lev gulped. “I hate them, why?”

Kenma’s grip on the sides of his seat turned his knuckles white.

“Because this is ten times worse.” He contributed.

Then, in a row of three, they surged forward.

Lev heard the screams of the passengers of the Scandinavian Angel and saw their arms fly up into the air as if they were, indeed, on a far to realistic roller coaster ride. The Warbeast was right behind, the driver coming to a stand and gripping the reigns and turning as if he were on a surfboard.

Jacob took up a similar stance and waved back to his passengers.

“Make sure you’re strapped in!” He warned as they approached the seeming black hole with far to much speed, in Lev’s opinion.

At the last second, he felt Morisuke’s fingers lace into his own.

“It’ll be fine, I promise.” He said quietly.

Lev was just about to comment on how he couldn’t ever remember him sounding so sincere…that is, until they were plummeting downward.

The force of the air against him felt like it might very well rip him apart, and all he could do was focus on the much smaller hand wrapped up in his own.

He vaguely recognized Kenma screaming his lungs out, and noted just how _odd_ the sound was. Quite a dumb thing to be doing when he was plummeting toward what, for all he knew, was his death on the back of a dragon, but really, it was weird. He could barely ever remember hearing Kenma raise his voice to a normal speaking volume but here he was now, shrieking like a banshee. 

Lev was trying to figure out why a much louder yelling was echoing in his own ears, until he realized that burning in his throat was _him_ screaming as well.

They hurtled down for what felt like a disproportionate amount of time before they were suddenly upside down.

Then right side up.

Then upside down again.

Then _side ways_.

They were spinning and twisting, and Lev could see in those moments he managed to force his eyes open against the wind that the world around him was filled with a sky of sparkling, twirling not quite stars. All of different colors, beautiful against a backdrop of black sky.

He managed to turn his head a fraction, and saw up the row. Morisuke had his eyes squeezed shut and was scrunched down deep into his seat, Kenma was clinging to Yamaguchi’s arm, Yamaguchi was clinging onto Kenma around the shoulders, and Tsukishima had his arms firmly crossed as if he was just trying to play it cool until it was all over.

And then it was.

They erupted from another circle on the opposite side after far to long of that chaotic ride, and everyone slowly began disentangling themselves from each other while Lev leaned over the edge and looked down.

“Whoa…” 

There it was.

The Underground.

Sat on the edge of time and space, somewhere no one could really quite pinpoint. People in black hoods mingled in the crowded thin streets. Buildings tall and lopsided stretched towards the spell filled sky, contrasted by squat little stalls and shops all across the hilly, broken landscape. 

_This is it._

The silver haired boy thought as he let himself be overwhelmed by the view that no one of his birth in the world should ever had truly gotten to see.

_This is Mori’s world. This is the place where he's normal. This is where he does business, where his family makes a living, where he grew up running through the streets with his friends, where he meets up with people he's known his whole life...this is his people._

He would be right, of course.

He had arrived in the Underground.

 _This_ was where the crazy people came to play.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all! Well, like I said, I have two little announcements to make. First of all, if we have any Overwatch fans over here, I'd really appreciate it if you guys would go check out my first work in the Overwatch archive 'The Bright Side' it's an A/B/O work with O!Lucio x A!D.Va along with some side pairings like McHanzo and possibly some Symmetra x Junkrat? Anyway, if you'd check that out, I'd appreciate it so much! Second thing, I hid one of my all time favorite anime character's in here, like actually, I'm pretty sure if I had to pick an anime character to have in real life, it'd be this one. So YUP! If you spot them first, you get the honor of choosing what Lev's necromancy weapon is gonna be :D Let me know in the comment if you know who it is! F.Y.I I'll probably be doing this more often in the Underground if I even need to have an OC for some stupid reason, and maybe I'll use it to have more little things involving readers! :D So with that, please drop a comment, they help Kenma stop screaming, please leave kudos if you haven't been here before, and I'll see you in the next chapter! Thanks for reading!


	26. These Friends of Certain Circumstance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I liked the phrase 'Friends of Circumstance' so much that I decided to keep it rolling with this chapter too! Well, here we go! The journey is complete, and Lev has finally arrived in the place were the crazy people meet up! It's going to be a ton of fun! Please enjoy~

**_The Underground._ **

 

“Come on, behemoth, it’s not that far down!” Yaku reprimanded as Lev dangled from the edge of the saddle for a few moments before clumsily dropping to the ground.

Once his feet hit the solid grass he turned and gazed into the opening in the buildings where the grass met uneven cobblestones, which connected to the twisted city's winding streets.

“It’s…real.” He mumbled, actually rubbing his eyes, thinking he might be hallucinating.

Morisuke elbowed him in the side. “Hey, you thought I’d lie about it?” 

Tsukishima walked up on Morisuke’s other side.

“Kiyoko-san and Yachi-chan are going to be performing in the square soon. I’m sure Tanaka-san and Noya-san will be there too, are you coming to watch?”

Yaku shrugged. “I dunno, let me ask…hey, Mom!”

As he turned to ask his mother what her plans were for the day, walking away to where she was directing the unloading of their wares. Yamaguchi was pulling down some of his own items along with Kei’s older brother, and Kenma was tugging fruitlessly at his own rather large trunk of earnings to sell. Tadashi was going to help him with this now. 

Of course he was. 

Meanwhile, this had Lev left to stand completely alone with Tsukishima, who turned to look at him with narrow eyes.

“Ok, let’s get this over with fast.”

His hand shot out and grabbed Lev by the front of the hood, dragging him closer and pulling him down. A strange position for Kei, who was normally far taller than most people he needed to intimidate, but he had it right, and was looming dangerously against Lev all the same. 

A flash of orange surrounded his free hand and within an instant a dark wood handled haladie sort of double bladed dagger if you will, appeared from the spark.

Kei’s long fingers nimbly  manipulated it's razor sharp blades in practiced circles around his hand. It had multiple rings affixed to the base of it’s blades, and the handle had several long colorful scarves, much like the ones Lev had seen attached to Morisuke’s knife, tied to it in neat, space saving knots with the access flowing out all in the same direction. This arrangement allowed four to fit onto the handle still with enough room for Tsukki’s hand to grasp it comfortably.

In the next moment, the blade was a hair’s length from Lev’s eye.

He recoiled, the tip of the blade disproportionally large against the backdrop of Tsukki’s narrowed eyes and intense face.

Kei’s grip on his hood held firm.

 _“Look.”_ Kei snapped in a low voice. 

“I may be an unrepentant asshole, but Yaku-san has been through enough pain in his life between his Dad and being picked on just because he’s too nice to give up hope for humanity quite yet. I’ve given up that hope, at least for those with the light to see us and not call us insane without knowing our secret. I don’t listen when people call me crazy, it doesn’t affect me anymore. It still hurts him. So listen up, I’ve haven’t seen him _this_ happy since I was like seven, so if you screw anything up and hurt him, I swear to god I will bring a fury like you have never even _imagined_ raining down upon your head. I will summon tortured gremlins of hellfire and wailing shadow wraiths to hunt you down and burn you alive, so you’d better not so much as make him cry. Got it?”

Kei’s eyes held the intent that showed he wasn’t joking. 

There was also still an extremely sharp blade far to close for comfort to the emerald green of the half Russians eye.

Lev let out a fearful squeak. “Y-Yeah! Clear! Ok!” 

Kei then let go of him again just as Morisuke came back over to them, beginning to casually spin his haladie once more.

“She said I should try to show Lev around today, and introduce him to all you guys, so yeah! We should totally go check in on Kiyoko and Yachi-chan. What were you two up too? Why’ve you got your blade out?” 

Yaku looked between the two of them curiously.

Kei spun his adorned weapon in his hand once more.

“Nothing, I was just showing your cell phone tower of a boyfriend my weapon. Like I was saying, it’s an Indian blade, ancient thing, called a haladie, it's been in my family for decades. Pretty sure my Great Grandfather picked it up while he was hunting for rare flowers in the jungle. Cool right?”

Kei quirked an eyebrow at Lev, as if daring him to say otherwise.

“O-Oh, yeah! Neat!” Lev spat the words out, just barely managing it against the rapid pounding of his own heart.

_For a second I thought one of my boyfriends best friends was gonna gouge my eye out…_

The blonde looked back down to Mori again.

“Have you thought about what you’re getting for him to start out yet?”

The lie passed seamlessly by, and Lev had no desire to anger the glasses wearing boy by calling him out.

Morisuke shook his head. “No, actually. I haven’t even considered it…we’ll probably check in on the weapons stalls and the scarf department later today. For now, let’s try to meet up with everyone in the square.”

“Sounds good.” Kei agreed as Kenma and Tadashi finally came to join them.

As they were just about to leave, Morisuke paused when he saw the driver of the Scandinavian Angel dragon paging through a book, sat on a bench near the massive stall where his dragon was currently curled up resting.

Morisuke elbowed Kenma in the side.

“You should go ask him about how to get into dragon training.”

Kenma looked over to the white blonde haired man, sat with his high necked dark blue cloak up to cover him up to his nose. Underneath the cloak he was wearing a pair of blue slacks along with a blue undershirt and black vest. His tie was loose and hanging forward, letting his collar open up to reveal a hint of his collarbone. 

Kenma shook his head quickly.

“No way. He’s resting, he wouldn’t want to be bugged by some kid.” He mumbled quickly.

Morisuke sighed. “Come on, this is a perfect chance. He and you seem to have a lot in common. Quiet, love books, love dragons, and by the looks of things his hair is bleached so maybe you guys both have a thing for hair dye?”

Kenma frowned, nose crinkling before he shook his head firmly again.

“Just because he’s reading a book and has pale hair doesn’t mean we have a bunch in common. I don’t want to look like an idiot.” He hissed.

Morisuke groaned. “Do you want me to talk to him for you? I’ll even do a few dragon riding classes or whatever it is you do to get into that stuff with you if you want.”

Kenma shot the driver a sideways glance.

His violet tinted eyes lifted to affix on Kenma for a moment before dropping back down to his book.

Kenma rapidly began shaking his head again.

“Thanks, but maybe next time.” He insisted, hiding his nose in his book.

Morisuke gave up at this, knowing any more pushing would have put Kenma past his breaking point. 

“Alright, but I think you’re missing an opportunity…” He grumbled, but he left it at that. 

They were headed off now, and Lev was still a half step behind, feeling shaken but at the same time, in some weird way, he was relieved.

_Mori has a friend willing to issue death threats for him…to try and intimidate someone who could possibly break his heart._

Lev couldn’t help but admit he had a huge amount of respect for Kei. He was also quite a bit jealous of him.

_He’s my age, in the same year…but look at him! A decked out weapon like I’ve never seen before, knowledge about this entire world and…one of Mori’s childhood friends. They’ve known each other as long as they’ve been alive. Tsukki can’t remember a time that he didn’t know Mori. That’s…something I wish I had._

But then, if he were a seer by birth and not by the magic he'd been given in his ring, would he be able to have the relationship with Yaku that he did now?

That was a secret only the universe knew the answer too, and clearly Lev wasn’t ever meant to learn it.

So he picked up the pace and kept up with the rest of the group through the crowded twists and turns of the streets. It was a struggle for him not to pause to gaze in wonder over the wares for sale in awe, because half of the things laid out on display on the tables he’d never even seen before.

Or to simply people watch, or let his focus wander up to the strange carvings and ink scrawled over every brick and plank that seemed to make up this place.

They had finally arrived at the square, it appeared, where something even more awe inspiring was taking place.

A massive raven was flying and doing tricks through large golden hoops that were also moving, all dancing in a pattern that dazzled the eye. The crowd was making sounds to reflect their amazement at the spectacle, which was being performed by a black haired girl in a black strapless dress with a large red sash, who was wielding a sword, along with a petite blonde wearing a long swishy red dress with a thin black belt cinching it at the waist. She held a staff in both hands, adorned beautifully with golden rings and fluttering scarves.  

“Whoa…what’s happening here?” He asked Mori, who was standing just in front of him.

“Performances. Spell casters come to the square to show off their abilities in hopes of getting more people to hire them. It’s also great practice to hone your craft. Two of my friends are up there right now.”

Yamaguchi put a hand to his chest.

“I’m so relieved, Hitoka-chan seems to be calm up there with Kiyoko-san.”

Lev nearly jumped out of his skin when a spiky haired kid appeared in the company of a bald young man.

“Of course! Who wouldn’t be calm when they’re with Kiyoko-san, she’s like…perfect at everything! She’d never let anything go wrong, so it’s super easy to just do what you’ve got to do!” The shorter one exclaimed.

Kenma didn’t even seem surprised by their appearance, he just rolled his eyes.

“She’s dating her now.”  
The shaved headed one seemed indignant. “Can we not compliment her without you instantly assuming we want to date her!? She’s a beautiful, talented lady! We respect and admire her!”

“Yeah, but you’ll never date her.”

“I JUST SAID THAT KENMA!”

The bottle blonde shook his eyes and focused back down on his book.

“Hey guys! When did you get in?” Tadashi asked, leaning forward to look at the two of them.

As a matter of fact, Lev noted, no one seemed to be surprised by their sudden arrival.

_More friends, then?_

He’d honestly not been expecting _that_ many of them.

_But we’re up to how many new ones, now? Four right here…two more on stage? Six?_

“Yuu! Tanaka! Why do you guys always just take off on me?” 

An older guy with long brown hair tied back into a loose bun appeared just now, leaning on his knees as when he finally made it, gasping for breath.

“Hey, Asahi!” Yaku waved as Kei behind him nodded to the older boy.

“Sorry, Asahi-san!” The spiky haired shorter boy spun around to apologize.

“How’s a going, Asahi-san?” Yamaguchi asked him with a smile.

_Seven._

Lev solidified in his head.

It was now that the performance going on this entire time concluded, the bright glowing gold rings all erupting into dust that sprinkled over the crowd as the raven too vanished in a burst of falling black feathers.

The two girls on stage held hands and bowed before they collected up all of their scrolls and hurried off stage.

They jumped down nearby and the group Lev had somehow become a part of, at least in some regard, rushed to meet them.

“That was awesome! You nailed it, Hitoka-chan!”

Morisuke encouraged, seeming extremely proud of the young girl.

“Th-Thanks! I was really nervous…but having Kiyo up with me there really helped!”

She beamed over to the raven haired girl, who smiled back to her.

Asahi put a hand to his chest. “Good, I didn’t have to jump up with my knife to stop people from being decapitated again.”

Everyone laughed at this. 

Lev didn’t get it, and found he felt a little left out at that.

Inside jokes were probably going to befuddle him for the rest of the day.

He shook his head at this.

_No, no. Mori was constantly feeling left out of the rest of the world. Here is his place, I’m supposed to feel a little lost. I’ll understand it all eventually. I’ll find a way. For now, I have to be happy too see him like this._

Really, he was. 

Morisuke here was so much different from Morisuke at Nekoma.

Here, he seemed so normal, because here, he _was_ normal.

Lev really _was_ happy to see it, but at the same time, he wished he could be a part of this faster than the snails pace that he was already making.

Kei glanced over to him, noticing how he’d put a slight distance between himself and the rest of the group, and felt a soft smirk come to his lips.

“Now, Yaku-san, don’t be rude. You have to introduce your new titan boyfriend to everyone.” He said, putting his hand over his mouth to pretend as if he didn't want Lev to hear.

Noya gaped at Morisuke. “You got a boyfriend!?”

Morisuke turned to look over his shoulder at Lev, and then rolled his eyes fondly towards Yuu.

“Yes, before you. Better luck next time.”

Asahi seemed befuddled. “Wait, Yuu, you want a boyfriend? I thought you liked girls?”

Noya seemed ready to _implode_ at that, but Lev couldn’t focus on it thanks to how Morisuke had grabbed his hand and dragged him right in to join the rest of them.

“Ok, well, long story short, a bunch of shit went down…”

“Language!” Tanaka gasped, covering Yachi’s ears.

Kiyoko swatted his hands away.

“She’s fifteen, she’s heard someone say shit before!” She exclaimed.

Tanaka seemed ready to have a heart attack.

“KIYOKO-SAN JUST SWORE!?”

Morisuke _and_ Kiyoko both rolled their eyes at this, but all the same Mori continued on.

“…and now Lev can see like the rest of us thanks to an item I got from the big guys lackeys. Basically, he’s only been a seer for a few weeks, so if he seems clueless, trust me, he’s not stupid, he just has no idea what’s going on. So, yeah. This is Haiba Lev.”

Lev waved awkwardly. “Just call me Lev, ok? Um, nice to meet you guys, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Noya jumped front and center.

“Yeah? I’ll bet you heard about how awesome I am!” He declared with a thumb pointed to his chest.

“Who are you?” Lev asked flatly.

Yuu collapsed to the floor and everyone seemed to think this was rather humorous.

Morisuke shook his head down at him.

“Let’s just get this over with. You already know Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. The girls are Shimizu Kiyoko and Yachi Hitoka.”

_The black haired girl and the little blonde._

“The big teddy bear is Azumane Asahi.”

“Teddy bear!?” The long haired guy demanded, seeming put out.

“Everyone who agrees Asahi-san is a big teddy bear put your hand up” Tanaka ordered as he threw his own hand into the air.

Everyone’s hands went up, except for Lev because, obviously, he had no basis on which to judge.

Asahi wilted. “Ok…fair I guess.”

“The dynamic duo of dumb are Tanaka Ryuunosuke and Nishinoya Yuu.”

“Dumb!? I’ll have you know I got a 67 on my last Math exam!” Tanaka exclaimed.

Morisuke raised an eyebrow.

“I got a 98. And I’m a third year. In a higher class.”

Tanaka joined Noya on the ground while Morisuke just shook his head.

“Well, we’ve got to go weapons shopping for Lev, then we’ll hit up the scarf department, so we’ll meet you guys later on the Summoning Platform, sound good?”

Tsukishima hummed. “Sure, Yamaguchi and I need to check in with our families stall’s anyway.”

With this they left, and Yachi and Kiyoko left with a similar goal in mind.

Asahi put his hand up. “I need to get a chip fixed in my knife handle anyway, mind if I tag along?”

Yaku gave him a thumbs up. “More the merrier. Maybe you can help out with Lev picking out a weapon?”

Asahi nodded. “Sure!”

Lev furrowed his brow. "That reminds me. Kenma-san, what's your weapon? I've never seen you with one before."

Kenma glanced up at him before blowing at a strand of his hair.

"I don't use it unless I have too...it's annoying." He said bluntly.

Lev turned to look at Mori, even more confused at that.

"Don't you get to choose your weapon though?"

Morisuke snickered. "Most times, yeah, but Kenma didn't have the money to pay for anything he wanted, so he had to settle for an old stripped down weapon of my Grandfathers."

The silver haired boy seemed intrigued.

"What is it?" He asked excitedly, head swiveling to Kenma once more.

The bottle blonde groaned. "Maybe at the weapon's stalls."  

So they headed off, and it was now that Lev was realizing he was about to get one of the badass armaments that his boyfriend and the rest of his family and friends carried.

His mind instantly ran off thinking of Shin’s impressive bow, Mei’s heavily decorated staff, Mori’s scarf wrapped knife, Ikumi's destructive axe, Tsukishima’s clean, efficient haladie.

The girls on the stage, Kiyoko and Hitoka, with their sword and staff combination. It was all far to cool to not feel just a little bit excited. 

_A weapon is a necromancers pride. Anyone who really wants to do something with magic has one or more weapons that they work for years to perfect to their craft._

Lev recalled Mori telling him this one day when he’d been explaining the multiple weapons that littered their house. 

Now the brand new seer was about to finally about be inducted into the business, about to properly be able to call himself a necromancer.

Despite the nerves and the tiniest bit of fear at being taught to wield a force like the ones he’d seen in passing for the past month, he couldn’t wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! I've gotten some inspiration back for this story so you can rest assured I'll be able to update sooner rather than later! I've got some really great ideas for the future of this story, and I really hope you'll stick around to see them come to fruition! Anyway! Please drop a comment down below, they help Lev escape Tsukki's secret protective side, and please leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks so much for reading!


	27. The Opportunity Presents Itself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so...  
> I'M A HETALIAN YOU CAN'T STOP ME.  
> I was literally on Tumblr today and saw a post with a very depressed Germany and Italy just swooping over him looking all excited and smug and the caption said.  
> 'You thought you could leave the Hetalia fandom, but really, you just went on vacation for a little while'  
> And someone had just put 'Welcome Back!' over Italy's face and I was looking at it and I was like.  
> "Yeah. That's exactly the place I'm in right now. Thought I left it behind, but here I am, blatantly dragging Hetalia characters into what is supposed to be a Haikyuu fanfiction...'  
> Better than boring stereotypical OC's no one cares about, right!? :D  
> Anyway! Please enjoy~

_**The Underground.** _

“And these…”

Morisuke gestured grandly forward at the massive collection of squat stalls set up in front of, between, and also inside of the many teetering buildings of the sizable outer circle they’d arrived at outside of the main square.

“…are the weapons stalls.” He finished.

Asahi sighed fondly. “You know, I haven’t been around here in almost a year.”

Morisuke hummed. “Yeah, no real reason to come by here unless you want a new weapon or need to repair or strip an old one.”

Lev, meanwhile, was slowly opening and closing his mouth with no words coming out at the display before him. Broad swords hung side by side with katanas and belts for throwing daggers. Men and women with built, wide shoulders from years of working such large, dangerous craftsmanship, were displaying, rearranging, and demonstrating their wares. Large tables cloaked in thick dirty tablecloths lined the sides of the circle, and people milled about looking at the offerings. Though, not as many as in the district where Morisuke’s family, among others, made their stalls. 

Before Lev could go running off, Morisuke seized his hand. 

“Do not touch anything without asking for permission from the seller, got it? Also, I’m on a tight budget so try not to pick something to expensive.”

Morisuke reminded him, reaching into the pocket of his slacks to flick through his wallet.

“I can pay for it!” Lev insisted.

Morisuke rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah, you wouldn’t even be _doing_ this without me making you, so I’m paying. Don’t worry, my haul from Blood Moon more than covers it. Let’s look around.”

As they were walking another group of who looked to be some middle school kids from Europe were all bragging about their expensive silver daggers and hand crafted swords they’d received. One kid was singled out from the group, and was holding in his hands a shabby looking staff that wasn’t even proportional to his height. It had a measly three spell rings attached to it, and no scarves at all.

The three with the expensive weapons, two boys and a girl, were _all_ to happy to remind him of this.

“You couldn’t even knock out a garden gnome with that thing! It’s pathetic, how can’t you have even a single scarf? Obviously you’ve never been hunting or anything!”

The young boy, younger than them at least, was clearly trying to hold back the hurt this was causing.

“I give all we earn to my brother, alright? The scarves are valuable, it’s better to sell them.”

The girl waved her sword, with a jewel encrusted pommel, tauntingly at the poorer child.

“Guess you’ll never get on our level, then!”

The group observing this, that is, Morisuke, Lev, Kenma, and Asahi, were all watching this with disgusted expressions.

“Those stuck up kids from the rich seeing families…they’re wealthy thanks to their strong seeing bloodline, everyone in their families can see, so they get more profit from hunting, and are trusted by more buyers around market time or to hunt bounties.” Morisuke muttered.

Asahi sighed, looking heartbroken for the poor boy getting harassed.

“Not all pure seeing families can be as sweet of the Yachi’s.” He commented.

Kenma, meanwhile, seemed to have had enough. He reached back, pulling his hood up and over his head, and started forward.

“Um, Kenma? Kenma!” Morisuke snatched at the back of his cloak but the younger boy was already stalking towards the cruel trio being so inconsiderate to the boy with the shabby staff.

Kenma halted right next to him, and, eyes brimming with tears, he turned to look up to him. 

Only slightly, mind, Kenma wasn’t exactly towering over these kids.

“H-Hi…?” He seemed unsure of what to make of him.

“Who are you?” The leader of the bullies demanded with a swipe of his dagger.

Kenma sighed. “Leave him alone, alright?” 

He crossed his arms across his chest as he did this, golden eyes glaring out from underneath the shadow cast over his face by his hood.

The girl with the sparkling sword scoffed. “Why should we listen to what you have to say? Have you got anything that can challenge _our_ weapons?”

Kenma didn’t seem too impressed with her bravado.

“I just might.” He replied in monotone.

In a flash, the bottle blonde had uncrossed his arms and swiped a finger in front of himself, shaping a pentagram in golden light.

A whirlwind blew outward as his weapon took form, ruffling everyones hair and pushing slightly at Kenma’s hood without knocking it off, and he caught it easily, the weight settling into his palm like an old friend.

Lev gasped. “Whoa…a spear?”

Sure enough, Kenma’s weapon was a _spear_ at least six feet in height with dozens of spell beads, scarves, and rings attached to it. At the tip it bore a teardrop shaped blade that shone thanks to the clear adoration it was given. Scarves of orange, blue, red, yellow, and black fluttered around the worn old shaft polished to gleam in the light of the spell stars. 

All three of the bullies stepped back, and the boy he was defending even stepped to the side slightly.

“That things huge!” The boy with the silver dagger exclaimed, part in amazement, part out of fear.

Kenma let the spear fall to lean against his shoulder, hooking his elbow around it.

“Any weapon can become your greatest asset. Even something you find covered in dust in your best friends basement, like this.”

He lifted the spear again and slashed it to the side, taking a step to advance and lowering the blade at the snobbish middle schoolers.

All three of them squeaked and leapt backwards.

Kenma then turned and offered the most awkward smile possible to the boy with the awkward, shortened staff.

“The blade was so dull it couldn’t cut butter, and it was wrapped in moth eaten scarves that had long since lost their enchantment. But look at it now. Care for something, and it’ll grow. No matter where you got it, no matter how expensive it was at the start.”

With this, he passed the staff back behind his head and literally began sketching into the air in front of him. 

The magic blossomed from the tip, and the aqua blue, yellow laced scarf tied about halfway down the shaft glowed as it’s ability was summoned.

The circle done, Kenma then looked back forward to the three still petrified brats before him.

“Do us all a favor, take those pretty weapons of yours and prove they’re worth the price your parents paid for them.”

He stabbed the blade of his spear through the center of the circle, which erupted outward in a torrent of water, a literal blast that crashed into the three and washed them backwards across the deserted section of the still mostly empty circle. 

The three of them sputtered, then, soaking wet with their fancy weapons and all, they jumped up and ran away, not even bothering to attempt to cast back.

Kenma sighed as he lowered the bottom of his spear to click against the cobblestone.

The boy with the staff looked at Kenma in awe as he swatted his hood of his head, flyaway hairs from his ponytail and pinned up bangs stuck up from the move.

He took a step towards him, lowering his staff with it’s worn old iron ring top to rest with it’s end on the ground. It was barely even his height, and as he grew it would quickly become more of a walking stick than a staff.

Kenma cocked his head to the side as the boy with nearly white hair spoke shakily.

“T-Thank you…you didn’t have to do that.” He seemed like he wasn’t exactly the talkative type

Kenma hummed, now suddenly grasping how unlike him this had been and turned to the side.  
“Yeah, just remember what I said, ok? Any weapon can grow and be an asset, you just need somewhere to start.”

He looked his spear up and down just then before pulling the aqua and yellow scarf off, undoing it’s careful knot and slipping it free.

He then simply let go of his spear, which fell towards to the side before vanishing into golden sparks when Kenma snapped his fingers.

“Here.”

He knelt down and tied the scarf in the same sort of reenforced slip knot that had once affixed it to his spear.

The staff buzzed with warm for a moment before the scarf settled into place.

“That’s your start.” He said, then he quickly began backpedalling.

The boy looked down at the scarf in awe.

“What does it do?” He asked after a second.

Kenma hesitated. “Well, it does water and ice magic. It makes it possible for you to perform water and ice spells with your weapon, at least.”

Despite his shyness, the boys eyes were sparkling at the sight of the beautiful shimmering scarf on his subpar staff.

A figure in blue came across the circle just then, sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the black hooded throngs that made up the rest of the masses. “Emil? There you are, I told you to stay nearby!” 

“Big Brother, look! He just gave me a scarf from his spear!” The boy went rushing over to him.

Morisuke couldn’t stop the smile that broke uncontrollably across his face as the dragon pilot, the same one who Kenma had been too scared to talk to earlier, came striding over to the young boy with equally pale, nearly white hair.

For a moment, the Scandinavian Angel driver observed the scarf tied to his little brothers short staff and said it was very nice indeed, then stood up and looked towards Kenma.

“Thank you for helping my brother. We don’t have much, and as much as I wish I could get him something better for his first weapon, I just can’t afford it right now.” 

As he said this, the man put a hand on the boys head, which the boy immediately knocked off with his little staff.

Kenma was speechless, staring at the man with violet eyes blankly before Morisuke swept in for the save.

“No way! You’re the pilot of the Scandinavian Angel, right?” 

His eyebrows arched in surprise before he nodded. “Indeed. Although, currently I’m not getting much work for my dragon and I, now that we’ve started being able to collect seer’s around Scandinavia for rides to the Underground, it’s been getting better.”

He had a soft, barely there smile on his face.

Morisuke elbowed Kenma harshly in the side.

“My _friend_ here really loves dragons! _He_ was admiring yours while we were flying here on Guila, the Mountain Jumper that went through the portal with you guys!”

Kenma shuffled away from the auburn haired third year a bit, huddling into himself slightly.

The man looked to him curiously.

“Oh yeah? I’m Lukas Bondevik. This is my little brother Emil. You are?”

He offered his hand.

Kenma took a moment before finally moving to accept the handshake.

“Kenma Kozume.” He replied in turn.

Lukas cocked his head to the side.

“You’re a very talented young necromancer aren’t you?” He asked, shifting his weight back onto his heels as he observed Kenma with pensive violet eyes.

Emil seemed intrigued by this, looking between his brother and the bottle blonde curiously with quick swishes of his head.

Kenma shrugged. “I guess so. My spell casting is ok. I’m not a half bad possessor either.” 

Morisuke yet again jumped in for the assist.

“He’s an amazing possession necromancer! He can even cast minor elemental spells with his bare hands! No weapon!”

Kenma shrank from the praise, eyes warming despite this thanks to the earnest tone of his friends voice.

Lukas raised an eyebrow before he seemed to get an idea.

“Do you, perhaps, want to learn how to train dragons someday?”

Kenma stood up ramrod straight all of the sudden, golden orbs alight, and he gave a quick nod of his head before remembering to dial back the enthusiasm a bit.

“Yes, sir…I’d…love to be a pilot like you someday. Or a trainer, or breeder.”

Lukas hummed. “Alright. How about this, I’ll teach you about dragons if you teach my brother to do magic. I’m no whiz with spell casting, just about the only thing I can manage other than day to day stuff is the portal casting, and even that’s a stretch. It doesn’t really come naturally too me. Emil, on the other hand, has had sparks flying out his fingertips since he was three, and I don’t want that talent to go to waste.”

Kenma seemed to space out for a moment. “Me? Teach him?”

Morisuke shook Kenma by the shoulders.

“Do it! You’ve always been awesome at picking up spells and stuff! And you can finally get to interact with dragons more than just feeding Guila every once in a while!”

Kenma looked to Morisuke worriedly before taking courage from his friends determined gaze.

“Ok…uh…yeah! Let’s do it.” Kenma squared his shoulders to Lukas as he said this.

The man seemed relieved. “Good…well, here, I’ll give you the address to our lot where I keep Titania and we’ll set up a time to meet up. Drop by anytime this afternoon, Emil and I will both be there for the rest of the day until I leave with the next flight this evening.”

Kenma yet again nodded stiffly as Lukas pressed a folded piece of paper into his palm.

“Nice meeting you. Thank you again for helping Emil, I look forward to working with you.”

“Thanks Kozume-san!” Emil chimed in.

With this, they both left, the boy now eagerly examining his fluttering blue and yellow scarf with his other hand held by that of his brothers.

Kenma just stood there wordlessly for a few moments, watching as they faded away into the streets, before Morisuke threw his arms into the air.

“Look at that, Kenma! You’re on you’re way! Soon you’ll be flying dragons like a pro! See! I told you an opportunity would come along with that guy!”

Kenma nodded dumbly, and meanwhile, Lev, who’d been observing with Asahi in silent fascination of the entire situation, turned to let his eyes wander over the stalls. The tables held all manner of weapons, even stuff that didn’t look like it should be a weapon.

_A duck carving…and a broom?_

Asahi seemed to wilt at the sight of the broom.

“Ok, now that’s just a hateful stereotype…” He muttered, quickly passing by the stall that indeed as a rather sleazy looking, shady woman as the shopkeep.

Lev turned his eyes to the next stall.

A long coil of rope was set right next to the daggers and swords, as if it belonged as a member of the group.

_Isn’t it literally just a cord though? Does it strangle things…or?_

He could practically feel the enthusiasm he’d felt minutes earlier wearing off to be replaced by growing dread at the tedious task of sifting through the literal hundreds of possible weapons here to find the one he wanted in his hands for the rest of his life.

_…and I really hope that apple is just for the clerk’s snack break._

Yeah.

Keep hoping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case no one realized the more subtle appearance of Lukas in the previous two chapters, I just threw him and his lil bro right in your faces! :D Hooray! Also for you fellow Hetalians because I know there's a least a few, Emil is NOT OOC he's just aged down, I'm sticking him somewhere in the neighborhood of ten-eleven years old. When he was younger he adored Lukas and called him Big Brother all the time! I needed some cute baby Iceland and cuter Big Bro Norway in my life ok! XD  
> Anyway, please drop a comment, they help Lev not try to kill thing with apples, and leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Finally, I hope to see you again next chapter! Thanks for reading!


	28. Choose your Weapon!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a while! Winter holidays and all, I've been working hard with school as well as stuff for all of the holiday prep XD Anyway, in this chapter we see the weapon selection of TeaLovingTooru since they were the first person to spot Lukas in the chapter where they were flying to the Underground. Please enjoy~

_**The Weapons Stalls** _

“So, what do you think of that one?”

Lev stumbled slightly under the weight of the massive axe he was struggling to even support.

“Uh…maybe not?” 

Asahi frowned, scratching as his stubbly chin.

“I expected him to do well with a long, top heavy weapon.” He mumbled.

Morisuke nodded in agreement. “He is a giant. Oh well, we have all day. Next!”

Lev was all to happy to let the staff fall back into the grasp of the heavily built older lady who was helping them browse through her stall.

“Perhaps something small?” She suggested, nodding her head towards the display of knives, whips, and other like weapons.

Morisuke looked up to Lev.

“What do you think? Want a knife like mine and Asahi’s?”

Lev hesitated. “I dunno…I don’t think I’m ever gonna be good enough to actually stab anyone.”

Asahi laughed softly. “You wouldn’t have too. Knifes are the least contact weapon out there. A lot of possession necromancers use them since they’re easy to control and drawing out spells is a snap.”

Kenma shuffled up next to them. “But they are limited…tough to really outfit them with many different abilities. It would get expensive, and he doesn’t really have anywhere to store a whole collection.”

Morisuke nodded. “You’ve got a point…”

The lady helping them leaned over the table now that she’d put the battle axe back up.

“What sort of weapons do you three have?”

Morisuke snapped his fingers and his knife fell from a shower of red sparks.

“I’m a possession necromancer, that’s pretty much all I do. I have a collection of knives I’ve built up, but this is the one I’ve got on me right now, it's my favorite.”

He turned the twelve inch dagger over in his palm, spell rings jangling.

The lady smiled and nodded. “Very nice. What about you?”

Asahi put his hand out, a mottled brown burst of light giving way to his own curved knife.

“I do different stuff, odds and ends. It’s enough for me. Spell casting is at least pretty straightforward with it.”

The lady yet again hummed her approval.

“Lovely, it’s got a nice curve to it, doesn’t it? A sort of hook dagger?”

Asahi shrugged. “It’s just an old thing from my family.”

She then looked to Kenma.

“Have you got a knife too?”

Morisuke grinned. “Show her, Kenma!”

Kenma dropped his gaze. “Why? It’s stupid and draws way to much attention.”

“You did it not long ago to help that kid.” Morisuke pointed out.

The bottle blonde flushed, looking flustered.

“T-Thats different! Fine.” 

He muttered before his hand flashed out, sketching a pentagram in the air in gold.

His spear came forth, twirling end over end. Kenma easily halted the spinning and swung in over to balance on his shoulders.

The woman running the weapons stall gave an excited cry. “Now that’s impressive, young man! A 17th century military grade, or at least, a mock version that a necromancer created. You won’t see many of those around. I love the teardrop blade, it's extraordinary!”

As they were all talking weapons, Lev wandered off a short bit, eyes gliding over the choices within the lady’s massive stall.

It all just felt so out of his league.

_Even those short little knives…I don’t feel like I could use any of those properly. I’d just mess them up somehow…ugh…I thought it would be easy to just pick out some cool weapon but now I’m just nervous about it for nothing!_

He slouched, raking a hand through his hair. All of the sudden his cloak felt to heavy. 

He looked about once more, and yet again felt overwhelmed by the shining blades and polished leather handles. His eyes passed over gleaming daggers, staffs of wood from different forests or trees of magical properties, and sheathed swords with engraved pommels. 

Then he settled on an item that lay with it’s thin pointed blade hanging half off the table. Shoved aside, in the far back of the stall, where most customers would rarely bother to look. 

It was a rapier, if Lev remembered correctly. 

It had a sturdy looking handle that was actually bit too long, as it appeared. The blade was skinny yet double sided, and looked to be quite sharp despite it's neglect in comparison to the other weapons. 

He glanced back, seeing that his group and the shopkeep still in conversation, and took up the rapier.

The leather felt warm and comfy in his hand, and there were two pieces of metal, thin and sculpted in an artful swirl down and around to protect the hand gripping the handle. The ends of the metal were both slightly arced outward and rounded to look like feathers. Lev rubbed at one of the pieces with his sleeve, revealing the shiny silver beneath the layer of wear on the old weapon.

The very bottom of the blade was about at thick as three fingers, and as it lengthened upwards towards the tip, it got thinner and thinner, ending in a perfect point with the aforementioned double edged sharpness.

Lev turned the blade over his hand, looking at one side than the other, brows knit in fascination. This weapon clearly wasn’t common amongst necromancers, as he looked over the table again, he couldn’t spot a single other quite like it. A quick glance back confirmed that the other nearby stalls didn't carry them either. All the other blades were much thicker, wider broad swords, or katanas like the one Kuroo carried by his side even in death.

Lev made to put the rapier back down, but as he went too, his cufflink got caught on one of the pieces of swirled metal and he nearly dropped the thing.

Gasping, he fumbled and managed to grip the handle tightly again.

Then the entire blade promptly lit ablaze with blue power.

Lev felt his heart hammering in his chest, eyes wide as the blue glow reflected against his pupils.

A loud _crack_ then shattered the silent awe, and the blue magic exploded outwards, striking the table and ricocheting from weapon to weapon before finally sputtering out.

The rapier clattered to the floor and Lev flung himself backwards, nearly knocking over a rack of staffs behind him.

Morisuke came rushing over to him closely followed by Kenma and Asahi, and the clerk came as well, though from inside the square of tables.

“What happened!?” Morisuke asked, looking shocked.

Lev stuttered. “I-I…I dunno! I picked up that one and-and…and I almost dropped it, so when I caught it…it…it did that!”

The clerk let out a low whistle.

“I’ve never seen someone with that much raw magic power just lying around. You gotta be bottling it up for _years_ to be able to force it all the way up a blade that long. People can practice for decades and still not be able to light so much as a six inch dagger the way you just did that whole blade!”

Morisuke opened his mouth, considering mentioning that Lev hadn’t really be bottling anything up, he’d just never been able to let it out before, then wisely decided to just shut it again.

Lev stooped and picked up the rapier, holding it delicately between his fingers this time.

The clerk quirked a smile at him.

“Well…that one it is?”

Lev hesitated. “But I just..almost blew all your weapons into the sky!”

The lady waved her hand. “Forget that, you channeled your magic through that thing better than I’ve seen anyone use a blade that thin. It's real tough to do without snapping the thing or melting it with the energy, even if it's not physically hot."

The weapons stall owner shrugged. "Magic does what it wants, I suppose. Of course, you’ll have a lot of practice to be able to get the hang of it.”

Morisuke reached into his pocket. “Deal. How much do we owe you?”

He was already counting bills out from his wallet.

Lev stood by speechlessly as Morisuke paid the clerk for the rapier and then turned to the tall boy with a smile.

“All yours.”

Lev groaned. “I’m paying you back.”

“Are not.” Morisuke waved a finger up at him before they headed back out from the plaza.

Asahi scratched the back of his head.

“Well that was…exciting. I’ve got to head back to my families stall. I’ll see you guys later at the Summoning Platform, or maybe at Twisted's?”

“It was nice meeting you, Asahi-san! Thanks for all the help!” Lev exclaimed.

“Yeah, thanks a lot, Asahi!” Morisuke chipped in.

Kenma waved, and with that the older boy disappeared into the crowd.

They continued on their way, and after a short walk more Kenma turned.

“Think I’ll head over to see Lukas-san…figure out what we want to do with me helping Emil.” 

Morisuke nodded to him. “Go for it! I’ll probably take Lev up to the Summoning Platform and show him out to summon and banish weapons. That good with you?” 

Morisuke turned his head to Lev.

Lev jumped. “Oh, oh yeah, sure!”

Kenma departed at this, and now the two of them headed off towards the Summoning Platform.

Lev glanced down at the blade in his hand still, marveling all over again at the fact that no one seemed to be at all concerned with him carrying a blade in plain sight. It really was a place full of crazy people. 

It then occurred to Lev that, to them, he was the crazy one.

Either that, or they accepted being crazy, and he was slowly losing it himself.

He was dressed up with a necromancers cloak and had a sword of his own in his hand, surely he wasn’t that much farther from going completely out the window.

Then, there was also what the clerk had said about Lev’s raw magic, which the emerald eyed boy had already figured must have to do with his circumstance. It made him wonder if maybe his boring background would transform into a strength come the future.

His eyes lifted to the massive rolling hills and occasional broken, risen or lowered cracks in this weird island floating out amongst nothing.

Nothing.

He was literally no where, at no time, in no place. Yet somehow people had found this rift and turned it into a haven. A market city to make even the greatest of those on Earth envious, pale and dull in comparison to this place of vibrant, unbelievable, glittering magic, echoing with the souls of ages past, and filled with the people of necromancies future.

_Crazy._

Lev decided, wasn’t even good enough a word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! I hope you enjoyed it, let me know what your necromancer weapon would be! :D Well, please leave a comment, they help Lev not explode entire weapons stalls on accident, and please leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks so much for reading!


	29. Field Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sorta skipped over the rest of Lev's Underground trip because I'm saving more experiences down/up/in/out there for future chapters that way we don't see everything and then it gets boring.   
> This chapter I've been looking forward too for a long time and if you check the updated tags you'll understand why ;)   
> Please enjoy~

It hadn’t taken him but maybe an hour up on the Summoning Platform to finally get the hang of summoning and banishing his rapier. The stunning view of the edge of nothingness as a backdrop had probably distracted him as well.

He’d kept up the practice over the next two days in the Underground, and now was pretty straightforward. Even now on the bus, sleep deprived from his late arrival home the night before, Lev was idly drawing a star against his left palm over and over again with his right hand as he watched ghosts flit up and down the streets alongside the people, with the occasional appearance of a cluster of sprites or a gnome here and there amongst the patches of nature.

The first thing that struck Lev when he arrived for the school trip to the former stronghold of a certain Yakuza clan, was the surprising lack of ghosts all throughout the place.

He tuned out the guide who was talking about the social hierarchy and structure of the lives of the members of the syndicate.

After all, he had a yakuza member from this exact time period he could interview for his assignment. He already planned the entire thing, he’d write down some questions and take a few notes, then pretend he was interviewing a yakuza member from this particular syndicate. It wouldn’t be hard, after all, Tooru was a member of this _exact_ clan, so any details the ghost gave him would line up perfectly.

After a brief tour the first years were given permission to wander the parts of the great stronghold still publicly accessible for the next two hours to take notes for their projects. Lev took off by himself, waving off Inuoka’s offer of teaming up. 

He heard as he left the spiky haired boy commenting how he’d gotten more and more secluded ever since he’d begun spending more time with their so called ‘crazy’ upperclassman. Not long after he heard several expressed concerns about if he were alright, hanging around with someone like Morisuke.

Lev smirked softly at the thought.

_I wonder…by my third year, will people call me crazy too?_

At any rate, today he was merely going to look about to try and generate some good questions, and for his own curiosity. It was a rather interesting place, after all. The more he walked about, however, the more disturbing it became as he realized there really were no ghosts around. 

Not even one.

_For a place associated with murder and deception, not having even a single restless soul is…actually creepier than having ghosts around in the first place._

Ever since he’d had his eyes opened by Morisuke and the rest of his family, and had become friends with the ghosts, they were no longer the cursed, demented souls of legend. Really, they were people. Still people, despite having lost their tangibility. 

Lev paused by a roped off stairwell to read the note board set up on the first stair.

“These stairs lead to the living quarters of the Clan family members?”

He mumbled squinting before he glanced back over his shoulder.

No one down the hall to his left.

No one down the hall to his right.

He _did_ have two hours too kill.

Long legs have their advantages, Lev was able to step over the velvet rope blocking off the stairs as easily as most others would mount a regular staircase. He hurried upwards and finally arrived on the upper stairwell.

The wood creaked ominously beneath his feet and he swallowing, for one traitorous second his old, unseeing self made a reappearance, worrying some demon might be lurking in these shadowing halls, robed in dark curtains that blocked the light of day.

He had to laugh at himself, and so he did, ever so softly.

_Demons make me tea and sandwiches, they don’t haunt old yakuza castles…_

He continued forward, trying his best to be quiet on the old floors, not to avoid some random demon, but to avoid being caught by a far more scary security guard. 

_I doubt anyone is up here though…I didn’t even see any security cameras._

He considered as his head swiveled this way and that. 

_Still no ghosts? So weird…_

Lev had to confess, he hadn’t yet been in a building that was completely void of ghosts for this long. Even his own apartment had had the occasional undead passersby come floating on through. He’d always pretended not to see them, from Mori’s suggestion. He thought back on the conversation now, as he drew his school uniform blazer tighter about his frame against the badly insulated cold of the upper level.

_Only talk to a ghost if you intend to try and help them…if you just want to say hello, it’ll hurt them more. They’ll want help, most of the time, though there are a good handful that want to remain drifters for the time being. Just…be careful, make sure you want to put in the time with them before you open your mouth._

It was pretty good advice, Lev had followed it thus far, and since he hadn’t done much more than shadow Morisuke on his usual possession necromancer duties, he had no intention of trying to reach out to a ghost on his own quite yet.

That is, until he turned the corner and saw the steps up to what he assumed was the tower room. This building had a single large tower built up above the rest, and, seeing as he still hadn’t wasted so much as ten minutes out of his two hours yet, he decided to push on.

The stairs were perilous, a few were missing treads, and the rest seemed to be barely clinging in there. He shuddered to wonder what the dark stain at the bottom had been, but he’d jumped over it without giving it too much thought for his own stomaches well being.

When he reached the top, the door was ajar, and he peered through it into a sweeping bedroom. A massive bed with curtains hung to surround it from all four sides resided here, along with expensive looking, if dusty, wooden and gold furniture. Red velvet backed armchairs around a matching pricy looking coffee table. Here, amongst the torn, moth eaten curtains, he saw the very first one.

A ghost.

Lev was almost relieved to see the young man standing there, he was out on the balcony, the doors were open wide. The breeze plucked at the decimated curtains, carrying with less of a presence through the rest of the house. 

Lev held his breath as he slipped over the threshold of the room. It had just occurred to him he’d never once confronted a ghost without the small yet comforting presence of his boyfriend at his side. 

The young man had a head of short spiky dark hair. He was wearing a slim fit black overcoat that showed the size of his biceps and the broadness of his shoulders, both of which were sizable. His skin was tanned, Lev could tell even with how he was faded out thanks to the fact that he was no longer totally with the rest of us.

He seemed so lost in thought that even as Lev crept closer, and he had no confidence in his creeping skills, the ghost was not alerted.

When he finally got close enough to see his face, with a sharp jawline, square eyes, and brooding expression, he knew it.

If it was even possible, this ghost was _mourning._

Lev saw the sparkle of a golden pin on the lapel of his overcoat, and underneath he wore a low-cut navy V neck that from this angle the high schooler couldn’t tell if it was a tee shirt or a long sleeve.

Still caught up by his previous realization, he backed up.

The only soul left in this dark, foreboding place that had once wrought so much chaos, and his eyes were so dark with memories that he clearly had no desire to hang onto, but didn’t have a choice. 

He’d been abandoned here alone, unable to seek out a help he didn’t know existed.

Lev swallowed hard.

_Help like me._

His heart thudded in his chest, and his mouth felt dry, but all the same, he knew what he had to do. More than that, what he _wanted_ to do.

“Hello?” He said it timidly, not wanting to spook the young man who, probably, hadn’t had someone talk to him in such a long time.

The ghost stiffened, visible through the fit of his overcoat, and slowly turned around, eyes wide.

He saw Lev, and his eyes darted around quickly, looking for whatever companion Lev had with him, because surely the still breathing boy wasn’t talking to _him._  

“Are you…talking to me?” He finally asked, voice uncertain.

Lev nodded, offering a smile.

“Sure am! You seemed like you needed someone to talk to!” He exclaimed, offering a wave to him.

The poor ghosts mouth opened and closed a few times in confusion before he asked.

“How can you see me? I mean like…no no no…I’m glad you can see me! I just…just…uh…no one has been able to see me before?”

Lev laughed. “It’s ok! Trust me, not a lot of people see like I do. I’m a necromancer, I see dead people. So does my boyfriends family…he gave me the ability to see too.”

He pointed to the ring on his finger with this.

The guy stepped back from the balcony, and as he entered the doors slammed behind him. A crack appeared in the wood.  
“Shit!” He spun around, hands up, looking startled.

“I hate that…I can’t make it stop.”

Lev hummed. “Yeah, the ghosts around Mori’s house do it all the time. Oh, I’m Haiba Lev, by the way. Can’t shake your hand or anything, but nice to meet you!”

The yakuza member nodded. “Nice to meet you, I’m Iwaizumi Hajime.”

A moment of silence stretched.

“So, I hope this isn’t too personal, I know we just met but…how did you die? Like, were you a member here back in the seventies?”

Iwaizumi crossed his eyes, looking uncomfortable.  
“Not by choice…I was the Clan leaders son. The heir to the syndicate.”

It then dawned on the silver haired seer before him.  
“Oh, of course! Iwaizumi! That’s the syndicate I’m doing a class project on!”

He then whipped his notebook out.   
“Hey, mind if I ask you some stuff? I was going to ask another yakuza ghost I know, but it would be so much cooler from the heir himself!”

A smile quirked at Hajime’s lips.

“Uh…sure? Why not.”

The next hour went by quickly, Lev asking questions about how things worked as an interview would, and scribbled all of the answers down to be typed up into a proper report later on.

“Thanks so much! I’m sure to get a perfect score with this! My first one of the year, at that!”

Hajime scoffed. “Hey, schools important, don’t be slacking off.”

Lev shrugged.

“I mean, I don’t really need school to do anything necromancy related. I’ll probably help my boyfriend with his possession business.”

Iwaizumi looked horrified.  
“You get payed to possess people?” He demanded.

Lev threw his arms up.

“Oh, no no no! We help ghosts move on to the other side! Then the big guy upstairs leaves a reward for us before they go!”

Hajime stilled just then.

“You…help people get to the other side?”

Lev bit his lip.

“I mean, yeah, but…I’ve never done it by myself.”

Iwaizumi visibly seemed disappointed.  
“Oh…”

Determination filled the first year as he spoke again, feeling stronger this time as he put his hand out and in a burst of blue sparks, out fell his rapier. He nearly dropped it but managed a suave enough juggle in order to catch it firmly, his hand slipping onto the slightly overlong grip. 

Hajime jumped, eyes wide at the sight of the blade emerging from nothingness, and Lev grinned widely at him.

“See? Magic!” He exclaimed proudly.

He then raised the blade and carefully stabbed it between the floorboards. Morisuke would normally jab it straight into the wood. However, Lev was worried about doing that with his long thin double edged sword, so he decided to play it safe.

Iwaizumi looked skeptically down at the weapon Lev had slid blade down into the slit that separated the floorboards.  
“Are you sure about this?”

Lev hummed. “Oh yeah, I’ve done it a couple times with Mori. It’s pretty easy, really.”

He ran his left pointer finger against the blade until it drew blood, and once it did he let a pearl of the scarlet substance begin a slow path down the edge of the weapon.

Iwaizumi opened his mouth to protest Lev hurting himself but the boy went right along, sucking on his finger for a moment to stanch up the minuscule amount of bleeding.

“You just have to be ready to face your past, ok?” He warned as he continued the ritual he’d sat through and watched Morisuke perform many a time.

Now that the blood had begun it’s downward travel, he then snapped the fingers of his right hand the start up a spark of magic, which he laid onto the other side, the dull of the blade.

The bright electric blue glittered against the silver of the polished weapon.

It caught onto the dull, and began to travel towards the floor as well, in time with the droplet of blood.

Lev then put his hand out in Iwaizumi’s direction, blue light still lancing from his fingertips.

“When the blood and the magic hit the ground, grab my hand, ok? Then we’ll see it. The day you died, and we’ll find a way for you to get to the other side.”

Hajime’s eyes trained onto the blade and, right at the instant they touched the ground, his hands shakily jolted forward and grabbed Lev’s.

Lev _felt_ it.

Because for this _one moment_ , Hajime was real and solid once more.

Then they together went tumbling into the void.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! Iwa is finally here! I've been so excited to bring him out, it's going to be amazing! :D Anyway, please drop a comment below, they help Lev not screw everything up and banish himself and Hajime beyond the plan and existences, and leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks so much for reading!


	30. Heartless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cry for the angst of this chapter, mostly because all of you seemed to guess the exactly opposite of what's about to happen.   
> ;-; It's not gonna be any less sad.   
> Please enjoy~

**_47 years ago._ **

 

Lev’s eyes creaked open, the world swimming around him for a moment before he managed to stand. Honks of loud, fog horn like car horns blared outside, and neon strip advertisements blinked and fizzled through the spotless windows of the French doors.

_I did it right! It worked!_

Hajime stood beside him, gazing out at the city before him, ignoring the softly snoring lump in the luxurious bed that in the modern day was nothing but a moth eaten pile of stuffing.

“This…is what it looked like when I was alive.”

He then put a hand to his own chest, eyes wide.

“But I’m…still a ghost?”

Lev nodded eagerly. “This is it when you were alive. I wouldn’t call it time travel, but it’s like…a snapshot of the day you died! And the reason we can touch each other physically now is because I’m a ghost in this era too! We’ll see something tonight, I don’t know what it’ll be, but it’ll be my job to spot it.”

Iwaizumi seemed unconvinced. “How will _you_ know what it is, but I won’t?”

Lev put his fingers up in the ‘I’m watching you’ gesture with a sly smile.

“The way I see is different, remember? Whatever it is will spark with a color similar to my magic, and I’ll sense it. Whatever it is, it’s what we have to find for you to be able to move on, for better or worse. I’m not exactly an expert yet, but I’ve done this enough times to know what I’m looking for!”

Hajime steeled his gaze. “I have to warn you, my death it’s…it’s not pretty...I didn't exactly go down in a blaze of glory or anything.”

Lev nodded, having expected as much from a yakuza heir.

“It’s ok. We can do this, alright? Come on!” 

He bolted across the room and took the stairs two at a time on the way down.

“WAIT!” Hajime threw his arm out after him.

Lev froze about six steps down already.

“What?”

And that’s when he heard it, screaming and sounds of conflict coming from the ground below.

It was now he recalled that sickening stain in the wood that seemed it wouldn’t come out no matter how hard you scrubbed, that he’d skittishly avoided at the foot of the stairs.

Hajime’s adams apple bobbed.

“I never…actually saw it that night…I never saw them do this to him…at least…not well…I could only just squint through the slit in the bars. I don’t know if I can stand to see it now.”

Lev hesitated. 

“But…seeing it might be the thing you need. I’m sorry but…you might have too.”

Hajime gritted his teeth and shoved past him down the steps.

Lev tailed him closely.

“Though now we can touch each other, to the rest of the world we’re ghosts. Whatever this day holds, it’s all a memory. We can’t change anything about it, even if we tried.” He explained, rattling most of this off from what he’d heard Mori saying to ghosts he’d helped in his day.

When they finally arrived at the turn in the stairs that made visible the conflict, Lev felt his heart plummet.

Tooru.

 _Tooru_ , living and breathing, though just barely, with a murderous glare set onto his face was being harshly overpowered by no less than seven others.

“You traitor! What sort of bullshit were you trying to take up to the heir!?” 

One of them roared as yet another took up an envelope from where it had fallen onto the ground from Tooru’s hand.

Hajime stood there in a daze, watching in horror what he never saw that night as they opened the letter. 

The one meant of his eyes only.

Beady eyes scanned across the words, even as Tooru was vehemently protesting him so much as touching the paper with not so polite language. 

His eyes widened as they reached the end of the letter.

“So…you love the heir? That’s not a good position to be in, even for an ass kissing bastard like you....guess that explains your slick fashion sense, huh tough guy?"

Oikawa gave another round of insults so vulgar that Lev wasn't even sure what half of them _meant._

Lev had had no idea the carefree ghost he'd come to know, always hovering about, stretched out like a content old cat, was ever capable of this rock hard determination, this dangerous glare, and able to take so much _pain_ and yet not cave to pleading.

The man merely scoffed as Tooru continued his tirade and delivered a full power kick with the toe of his boot directly to Tooru's nose. It broke, or perhaps it had already been broken and now it had just been...well, even more broken that before, blood sprayed, and Lev felt his stomach turn over. Yet he couldn't manage to tear his eyes away.

"The Boss doesn’t love you _that_ much. Hmm…guess we’ll have to take care of you for him.”

By now Oikawa was already losing so much blood that Lev could see where the stain still visible 47 years later was forming. One of his eyes was badly swelling, he had a head wound that wasn’t slowing down, not to mention one of his fingers had apparently been severed somehow, likely from the bloody knife one of his fellow members held. He’d clearly taken several blows to the stomach and chest area, and his teal turtleneck, which in the present day in his ghostly form was pristinely clean, was sticky and discolored from the scarlet that just _refused_ to stop, now helped along by his badly broken nose.

Hajime looked ready to throw up.

Lev wasn’t far behind him.

“You can’t…” Tooru spat the beginnings of something, blood seeping out from between his teeth, but was stopped when a tooth flew from his mouth, skittering across the floor.

As Oikawa coughed desperately, trying to clear his mouth so he could speak, Lev clapped his hands over his own mouth, and he could see Hajime’s shoulders shaking.

Finally, though, he managed to squint past the utter revulsion that had ensnared him and notice the slight spark of blue that glittered all about golden yakuza pin still attached to the lapel of his jacket. His magic was outlining the pin, making it sparkle against the faded out backdrop of this mystically fabricated memory come to life.

Oikawa, meanwhile, pressed onward nonetheless.

“…can’t…tell him Hajime…feels that way…he’ll…he’ll hurt him even if he’s the Boss’s own son!” 

The man who was holding the letter raised an eyebrow before he crumpled up the letter in his hand and produced a cigarette lighter from his pocket.

The manila paper caught easily, and burnt even faster. As the words disappeared from existences, they freed Hajime from ever being pinned with the crime of _loving_ someone. The man dropped it to the floor, still sputtering into embers.

Despite all his pain, Oikawa gave a bitter smile.

“I knew…there was something resembling…a…heart in there…somewhere…”

The man shook his head.

"I'm doing this for Hajime, not for you. I never liked you in the first place."

He waved his men towards the hallway, and they started dragging the lower tier member away.

“What the hell is going on down here? It’s like a war’s going on under my bed!”

Hajime’s head and bent by now as he, himself, the Iwaizumi Hajime of this very night, the one still alive by this days standards, came rushing down the stairs.

The door of the tower was slammed in their faces, leaving them standing and watching as Hajime, in nothing but his pj’s, struggling to see through the tiny gap.

“Oy! Let me out! What the hell do you think you’re…Tooru?”

Hajime, the ghost, turned and dove through the nearest wall to avoid having to hear anymore. 

He couldn’t stand to listen to the anguished cries he himself had produced that night.

Lev gave chase, and they eventually wound up in some far off hallway.

Far enough away that any screams were deafened by the foreboding stone walls.

Hajime’s hands were balled into fists.

“That didn’t do anything!” He roared suddenly, rounding on the younger boy.

Lev put his hands up in surrender.

“I know, I know, and I’m sorry! But…but I know what I can do something now! I know what you need to move on! I saw it! Now all we need to do is get back up to your room and pull my blade from the floor! Unless…there’s anything else you need to see tonight?”

Iwaizumi stalked back in the direction of the tower, funnily enough following the hallways, having forgotten he could just walk through walls.

The half Russian followed behind him, looking anxious all the same.

“So…yes, we’re going back?”

Iwaizumi shook his head tersely.

“I have to find out if Tooru got away.”

Lev felt something heavier than lead settle into the bottom of his stomach.

“Iwaizumi-san.”

He put his hand in front of the man and stopped him in his tracks, the cold chest of the long dead heir bumping off his forearm.

The dark haired man snapped his gaze up to the taller.

“What?” He asked tersely.

The young necromancer hesitated.

“Tooru-san…doesn’t make it. They kill him. Beat him to death just outside.”

Hajime looked horrified, and for what felt like the first time all evening, his hands went limp from the fists that had been in.

“He…died?”

Lev nodded softly.

“I’m afraid so. By now, we’re probably already too late to see anything more of him alive. He’d dead, Iwaizumi-san. I’m sorry.”

Lev was amazed at how strong this ghost of a man, more of a boy, really, was able to keep things together.

Finally, he managed a barely there nod.

“Just get me out of here. Back to present day.”

Lev rushed to do just that, leading the way back through the walls, up the stairs, past the oddly slouched form of the living Hajime agains the door at the base, and into the bedroom. 

Lev dove through the door, grabbed Hajime’s arm, and then, feeling relieved, he bent and yanked his ghost like weapon from wood.

They hurtled through the void once more, the endless space of black that took up every last corner of consciousness. 

At the end of it, they opened their eyes again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See, everyone seemed to think that Iwa was going to die for Oiks in some big heroic moment. But he didn't. And Oiks didn't really get to have a hero death protecting the one he loved either. They were trying to run away together from problems they'd been born into, but the one night they couldn't afford to be caught, they were. And Oiks didn't even have the chance to put up a fight, he was murdered, and he didn't even have the chance to tell Hajime goodbye. It makes you think a little different about Oiks's ditzy personality in this, huh? He's been through all this, and yet he still chooses to love, and reach out, and try to care about people even as a hopeless case who might be trapped in purgatory forever. He still tries.   
> That got deep, didn't it?   
> Anyway! Please drop a comment down below, they help Iwa find peace, and please leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks for reading!


	31. Oh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh.  
> Just...oh.  
> Yup! That's all you get for now! :D  
> Please enjoy~

 

Lev sat up on the hard wooden floor, feeling beaten and bruised all over. His entire body ached horribly and he small set of a cut on his finger where he drew blood for the spell was throbbing more than a cut that small should.

_How does Mori do this sometimes twice or three times a day?_

He pondered, glancing over to see Iwaizumi floating about an inch over the ground, still passed out.

Or, as passed out as a ghost could be.

Lev lifted his forearm, staring down at the racing pulse going just beneath his pale skin. 

_What a rush…_

He staggered forward and looked out the window. Modern day in all it’s glory shone glass and metal under the sun.

Emerald eyes lowered to look at his phone, which he’d pulled from his pocket.

_It’s only been almost two hours since I came up here…good thing it’s secluded, if someone had walked in on us, they’d probably be more than a little freaked out._

A groan reached his ears, and Lev looked over his shoulder to see Hajime slowly rising upwards, his etherial body coming back under control.

The spiky haired ghost blinked to clear the glassiness from his eyes before rounding on Lev.

“So!?” He demanded loudly.

Lev looked up at him blankly for a moment before he let out a long, slow squeal.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS!”  
He threw his arms up and ran in circles around the ghost, who’s arms fell slack at his sides in confusion.

“What the hell are you so excited about!? Did you see whatever it was?”

Lev clapped his hands. “Ok, yes! I did see it! It was Tooru-san’s lapel pin! We need to find Tooru-san’s lapel pin! But! Ahhhh!”

He shook his fists giddily.

“This is gonna be amazing!” 

It was now that Lev realized in horror that he had to get downstairs to rejoin the tour before he was counted missing.

“Ok, ok Iwaizumi-san!” He turned to the ghost eagerly.

“Yes!? Are you gonna go find Tooru’s pin now!?” He demanded, looking ready to pop a blood vessel.

Lev seemed barely able to contain himself.

“Even better! I have to go, my school tour is ending soon, but you should come with me! My boyfriend is like…a famous possession necromancer, and he has this whole squad of ghosts who follow him around! I’ll ask him for help, since I don’t know where Tooru-san’s grave is, and I don’t have time to wander around looking for it without getting in trouble! Come on!” 

Hajime was honestly questioning himself as he floated behind Lev down the stairs, but then, it didn’t hurt to try.

_I’ve been isolating myself in this tower ever since I died…why shouldn’t I give myself a chance at moving on, after all this time alone? At the very least I’ve got this high school kid to talk too…technically I’m only two years older than him but…does time after death suspended in the same body really count towards my age? I ought to ask him that later…_

Iwa honestly couldn’t establish just why he was following Lev, perhaps it was because after the last 47 years of hiding, haunting these halls and watching as the syndicate fell and modern day reared it’s head, he just wanted some form of companionship, even if it came in the form of an overly energetic, magic practicing first year student.

Iwaizumi paused at the arc that led to the exit of the stronghold that had held his heart prisoner for so many years.

He’d never made it through these pillars, never walked out as a free man. 

_Well, at least now I’m a free spirit you could say…_

He smirked dryly at his own joke as he allowed himself to be carried out onto the street, floating up the steps and onto the bus. He hovered awkwardly above Lev for a moment, about to ask him something before he caught himself.

_None of these other kids know he sees ghosts, I’ll bet. That’s why he’s ignoring me._

Hajime had always prided himself on being able to read the situation, so he decided this must be the case and settled in for the ride.

He didn’t even glance back as the building that had served as the scene of his childhood and his death sank out of sight behind them.

 

**_Nekoma_ **

 

“Mori!” Lev raced around the corner eagerly, a grin wide on his face.

Hajime wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting when school had finally let out and Lev had bolted from the classroom, running to the school gates.

This so called expert necromancer boyfriend of Lev’s whom he’d heard a bit about over a break during which Lev had stuck off to a secluded corridor in order to talk to Iwaizumi without being seen, somehow he’d been imagining somehow who looked a lot less average.

This petite boy in the same uniform as Lev, dress shirt rolled up to his elbows, with a mess of spiky auburn hair, surely was not anything close to what he’d envisioned in his minds eye. He looked like an everyday high schooler, but then, why wouldn’t he? Hajime had just been running off memories of long ago fairy tales most of this time.

Yet there he was, and instantly his eyes travelled from Lev put to Hajime, and locked eyes with him.

He gave a soft hum before turning.

“Hey! C’mon, let’s head back. You’re spending the night again right?”

His arms raised and his hands folded behind his head as he strolled off.

Lev took a few quick steps and easily caught up with him. “Parents aren’t gonna be back until Friday, so I’ll be able to spend loads of time with you all until then. Where’s Kenma-san?”

Yaku shrugged. “He said something about a sale at his favorite game store and took off the second class was out. Practicing before school today was probably thanks him whining at Coach Nekomata so he wouldn’t miss the release or whatever. You missed it with the field trip and all.”

They turned a corner, and now as they wandered down a far more secluded street, Yaku slowed his pace to walk next to Lev and glanced back over his shoulder.

“Who’s your new friend? Found a spirit hanging around on your field trip?”

Lev’s grin got even bigger, if that were possible.

“I even did a possession! It was amazing!”

Morisuke gawked at him. “Why would you perform a possession in broad daylight at a public location!? How did you not get walked in on!?” He demanded, barely managing to keep his voice down so the sparse foot traffic around other parts of the street didn’t hear.

Lev put his palms up. “But Mori, I swear, you’re going to be so happy I did! By the way, where’s the posse?”  

Morisuke rolled his eyes. “I made them stay home, I had two exams today I wasn’t going to deal with them distracting me.”

The third year then spun to walk backwards for a moment, giving a lazy wave up to Iwaizumi.

“Hey! Sorry about this idiot here, if he screwed up anything with the possession, or just hasn’t explained everything properly too you.”

“Hey!” Lev shouted, looking offended.

“I’m Yaku Morisuke, and I’m assuming you want us to help you move on?”

Iwaizumi nodded stoutly. “Yeah, if you could. I had no idea people like you guys even existed, so I just hid inside the stronghold. I guess I was a little freaked out. I wasn’t expecting to wake up again after I pulled the trigger.”

Morisuke’s eyes widened. “After _you_ pulled the trigger?” He repeated incredulously.

“Wait, is that why you said you wanted to end the possession early?” Lev gasped, eyes wide.

Hajime winced, realizing his error. “I…uh…it was…the best way to go in the situation they…you know what? I don’t have to explain that to you! All I need is you guys to find Tooru’s pin so I can get the hell out of the shitty existence!”

Morisuke snapped his head to the Lev.  
“Tooru?” He demanded.

Lev merely drummed his fingers together in front of his face in the facade of an evil mastermind.

“See? Told you you’d like this.”

Morisuke groaned. “Oh boy…this is gonna be interesting.”

He then waved to Iwaizumi.

“C’mon, my place is just up ahead.”

They passed by Lev’s apartment complex, and as they did, a very skinny black cat came bolting out from the bushes and latched itself onto Lev’s leg.

“GAH!” The mammoth of a boy shrieked in surprise and kicked out.

“Get off me! You do this every time! What do you want!?” 

He bent to seize the cat but before he could it took off again, zooming off at spot speed.

“What the hell was that about?” Hajime asked incredulously.

Lev groaned, swatting at his pants leg where the cat had leapt at him.

“I have no idea! Every time I get back, walk by, or leave, that same black cat comes running out of no where and grabs onto my leg. But the second I try to touch it, it just takes off again and hides in the bushes. I’ve also caught it trying to get into the complex before, but it can’t get past the front doors. Most people are pretty good about keeping animals out.”

Morisuke snickered. “I never thought you’d actually be annoyed with a clingy cat.”

Lev groaned. “But it won’t take treats or food or anything! It just attacks me and runs off again!”

The third year shrugged as the continued on their way, heading into the section of trees blocking the Yaku house off from the rest of the city.

“I’m sure it’s just a weird spiteful cat.” He blew it off.

Lev pouted down at him. "What if it bites me? What if it has rabies?" 

Morisuke rolled his eyes. "Then kick it or something!"

"I CAN'T KICK A CAT!" Lev wailed.

"THEN DEAL WITH IT!" Yaku exclaimed, throwing his arms up.

Iwaizumi watched this whole display from behind, and despite the irritation clear to Morisuke from this seemingly pointless conversation, he saw something so painfully familiar. This was the same way he and Tooru used to argue, with loud voices, wild gestures and rude remarks, but at those times he couldn't think of anyone he'd rather be talking too, even if he were just trying to convince the moron that _maybe_ leaping from the sunroof of a moving car to get the jump on a hit wasn't the best idea.

They were headed up the dirt path towards the house when Morisuke cracked his knuckles.

“Are you sure about this?” He asked, turning to Lev again, a bit of concern in his eyes.

Lev crossed his arms and pouted. “Don’t you trust me with anything?”

He then hopped right up over all three stairs of the porch with one bound of his long legs and went inside, shouting as he went.

“TOORU-SAN! SOMEONE’S OUTSIDE TO SEE YOU!”

Hajime felt his jaw drop as a ghost came scooting irritably out of the house, gliding through the wall with his arms crossed. “No need to screech, Lev-chan, I was just watching such a good soap opera with Tori-chan and the main character just got cheated on by her…”

He lifted his eyes and met eyes with Hajime.

“Oh.” He said simply, looking at a loss for words, arms going slack at his sides as Yaku sidled hurriedly around the all but threw himself through the front door, slamming it behind him.

“Lev! What are you thinking? Do they even _like_ each other? Just because they're from the same syndicate doesn't mean they're like best friends or something! They might hate each other!”

The young man shrugged as he loosened his tie from his collar. “Well, as far as I could tell from the possession, they like each other just as much as we like each other.” 

Morisuke stared at him, looking mystified for a moment, before it dawned on him.

_“Oh.”_

Another moments pause stretched before both of them rushed to the window, huddling in close to each other in order to see the show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as you can clearly see the next chapter is going to be very...emotional and it will probably make all of us ache for this ship so that should be exciting! Yup...Iwa and Oiks are back together again, but does Oiks still feel the same way? I mean, he died a painful, unfair death way to soon, and it was Iwa's fault...that's gotta hurt, right? Well, please drop a comment down below, they help Iwa get his voice working again, please leave kudos if you haven't been here before, and I hope to see you again next chapter! Thanks for reading!


	32. IMPORTANT NOTES

**Hey everyone!**

Sorry to bug you, but as I've been working through my plot point list, I realized that this story is actually marked, in my plot at least, to end in the next five chapters. I really don't want to end it quite yet, and I've had a few ideas with other side ships and what not. I'll be going back through the story and editing some stuff, changing the time skip lengths, editing characters, and changing up foreshadowing so I can keep this story going for a while longer! You might notice a few characters appearing or disappearing, but don't worry, that's not you going crazy *The Yaku's are the only crazy ones around here* it's me messing with the story so I can have some new and interesting stuff happen instead of just 'Underground trip, dragon rides suck, here's some new random thing you didn't know about necromancers, let's go home now, hey why don't we find some spell to do some random thing for some random person? No? Ok, stories over!' 

You feel me? Great! So, pay no mind to me messing around with the story chapters a little bit, you might want to check back, because a certain character who was only background before is gonna be vanishing and then reappearing once more with a much cooler and more interesting role that will extend the story and make things way more fun to write! So hooray!

Thanks as always for reading!

_**-Amethyst** _


	33. In this life and the next

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we have the adorable seventies boys finally getting their moment!  
> Please enjoy~

Hajime’s mouth opened and closed, but no words managed to escape it.

He had _so_ many questions, and he’d been so furious and uncomfortable with the sneaky glances those two who were still alive were sharing.

Now he got it.

Lev had known since the possession, and that was why he insisted Iwaizumi join him back to this spot. 

So Hajime could finally see Tooru again.

The fellow spirit straightened in the air, hanging there with his mouth half open, seeming to be having the same issue with wordlessness as Hajime did.  

_He looks the same._

Iwaizumi’s frazzled mind managed to provide this much. 

Hajime honestly couldn’t be more relieved. He couldn’t imagine seeing Tooru and him looking the same as when he lay on the floor that night. Beaten, bloody and ragged out. 

Iwaizumi couldn’t even manage it, because Tooru looked just like the Tooru he remembered. His turtle neck was spotless and not a tear was visible, his coat wasn’t stained darkly, and the golden pin on his lapel was polished to a shine, just as it had been 47 years ago.

He was beautifully unbroken, a perfect expanse of undamaged skin on a canvas blank with astonishment

“You…what happened to you?” Tooru floated closer by a few feet, leaving maybe a yard of distance between them.

Iwaizumi hesitated. “I…died.”

A long moment of silence stretched. 

Iwaizumi felt something, not quite his heart, maybe just some sort of reaction akin to what his heart would have been doing if he still had one, the same racing that made him feel all jumbled up inside.

_It’s been 47 years…47 years he could have been alive…but he died for me. It was my fault, because I made him fall in love with me…well, it was more the other way around but still. What if he doesn’t feel the way he used too?_

Hajime remembered the letters then traded back and forth. How much he’d wanted to save every single one, but he was forced to burn them in order to keep their secret. They were lovers that spent little time together, but the things communicated in those letters. Things that the most passionate lovers, who were attached at the hip, couldn’t bring themselves to say aloud, much less put to pen in such beautiful fashion as Tooru did. Iwa himself wasn’t too proud of his replies, but the warmth of the smiles he received across the room from him proved otherwise. 

All of that. 

All of that pure, beautiful love had been cut short by circumstances beyond them 47 years ago. 

And that many years was long enough for the fire that had burned in Tooru’s heart to be snuffed out by the overwhelming odds against them, by death, and despair, and the wanderings of purgatory.

Especially since he’d clearly been associating with other wanderers this entire time, instead of isolating himself as Hajime had. 

All of this ran back and forth, the thoughts screeching and chasing each other in Iwa’s mind during this one prolonged moment of silence.

Then, just like that, the eternity trapped in a frozen heartbeat was over.

Oikawa snorted.

He freaking _snorted._

Tears welled up in the corners of the ghosts eyes as he fell into a hysterical fit, his laughter ringing out like the abrupt jangling of a bell. It shattered the anguish that had been so close to eating Hajime alive.

Tooru was clutching at his stomach, head bent, before he lifted his head.

“God, you numbskull!” 

Just like that, he was closing the gap and throwing his arms around Hajime’s shoulders.

“No shit you’re dead! I meant _besides_ that!”

Iwaizumi numbly put his arms back around Tooru’s midsection and felt something burn inside him that had been gone to long.

Looks like that cliche line Tooru had always dropped about loving him in this life and the next wasn’t a bunch of bullshit after all.

Tooru pulled back just enough to look into the other ghosts eyes, foreheads nearly touching.

“You’re too young…you don’t look any different. You were supposed to live…that’s why I died. What happened?”

Those brown eyes were staring straight through him. 

Iwaizumi felt his throat closing up. 

_How is that even possible? Don’t ghosts like, not breath or something!?_

All these feelings were far to _alive_ for his comprehension.

“I…the next morning, after you died…I was in a daze through breakfast. Father…the Boss, that is…he noticed, and mentioned to me I was acting like someone had died. The look on his face…”

Hajime gripped at the back of Tooru’s overcoat, the memory overwhelming.

“…he _knew_. Those rats who killed you told him, I’ll bet, or maybe he just found out about your murder and put two and two together…maybe they twisted the story not to mention our relationship…but the way he looked at me. He knew. I was so terrified, the rest of the morning I carried both my pistols full loaded, thinking he’d come after me any second. Then I remembered what you said, once. That we’d run away together. Steal a car and drive until we lost the road. Then we’d finally be able to be together without all the secrets and letters and making out in my wardrobe between hits when no one was expecting us anywhere.”

Oikawa hummed. 

“I remember that last one. That was fun.” He snickered devilishly.

Hajime sighed. “I don’t get you…the chance of being caught and killed for being gay and in love in the seventies really just turned you on more didn’t it?”

Oikawa’s eyes twinkled. “Well I had you to be gay and in love with, so that made things a little better. When I got to be with you, all the terrible things in the world just seemed to fade away.”

“Sap.”

“Guilty as charged, I’m a gay murdering sap from the seventies and so are you.”

Hajime groaned, and Tooru stuck his tongue out. 

Keep in mind they were still wrapped up in each other, so this one move alone almost constituted for a kiss.

Iwaizumi held back on that front, pressing onward on the other.

He wanted to get this news out as soon as possible.

“Look, I just…I decided to run. So I did. It was a huge firefight, I killed about ten or eleven of our guys, managing to reload a few times…”

Tooru whistled. “Murder was never you strong suite, Hajime.”

“It sure as hell wasn’t yours either.”

“Touche. I was always more of a debt collector type of guy. The honey before the hatchet and all that.”  

Their foreheads were touching now, Hajime swore he was about to feint. 

You know, if ghosts _could_ feint, he wasn’t really sure about that yet.

He wasn’t really sure about much of _anything_ right now.

“I made it to the archway…you know the one..”

“…leading out onto the street at the front, just beyond the doors. The one I’d wave to you from, since you could see it from your bedroom window.”

Tooru finished for him.

Iwa just nodded.

“There were about a dozen guys coming after me, the street was full of civilians and…you know…what was the point, anyway? You were the only good thing in my life. My Father wanted me as nothing but an heir, I never knew my Mother, and all the other guys in the clan hated me for being the heir…and now I’d just killed like twelve people, not counting the others over the course of the other nineteen years of my life. I had one bullet left, and there was no way in hell I was about to let them catch me. I almost stepped out the archway before I did it…figuring I’d free myself before I really let go, but…it didn’t feel right. Not without you. So I pulled the trigger standing right under the arch. Last thing I remember I was falling backwards, everything went fuzzy, and I was staring up at the arch. I fell backwards, into the stronghold. I never really left after that, not even after my soul or whatever woke up again and I was stuck like this.”

Tooru’s mouth fell open, but he managed to close it in record time.

“You killed…yourself?

Hajime nodded. “Yeah. I died about twelve hours after you did…though…I never saw you die. I just saw them drag you off.”

Tooru pursed his lips.

“Yeah, not sure quite when I died for real. I mean, when I woke up as a spirit, I was in the hallway just before the outdoor courtyard. They probably offed me somewhere in between and I have no clue where my body ended up. Contrary to popular belief your soul awakens where it left your body and not where your body came to rest. Creepy, huh?”

Hajime nodded, looking past Tooru to catch a look at the two teenagers huddled up together in the window watching them. Lev had an arm around Morisuke’s shoulders.

“They’re disgustingly adorable, aren’t they?”

Tooru glanced casually back over his shoulder.

The two seemed to realize they’d been spotted and Lev simply picked his boyfriend up from under the armpits and hustled them both out of sight.

Oikawa giggled.

“Yeah, but not as bad as we’re gonna be.”

Hajime frowned. “You know…the thing I need to move on. I thought it was you.”

Tooru laughed softly, and it sounded like a sweet melody to Hajime’s ears.

“So did I! But here we are. Though I figured it out a while ago, Ikumi-chan, Mori-chan’s Mom, did several possessions with me trying to find it. Eventually I wandered upstairs during the memory, ended up in your room. I need to find your lapel pin. I didn’t know where you were buried, and I didn’t even know if you were dead or alive, so I decided to just stay with Ikumi-chan. At the time she was pregnant with Mori-chan’s big sister, and I couldn’t bear to ask her to travel with me in order to find the pin with her magic. After Mei-chan, who is Mori-chan’s big sister, was born…she loved me. Now she’s twenty two, so you can probably tell I couldn’t bring myself to leave. Ikumi-chan’s fiancé left her after Mori-chan was born…she needed me and the other spirits to help her stay strong. She had a five year old, a three year old, and a newborn to deal with. Now Mori-chan is almost eighteen.”

Tooru blew a his bangs.

“God, I feel old!”

Iwaizumi chuckled deeply.

“Don’t worry, you don’t look a day over thirty.”

“I died when I was nineteen!”

“Your point?”

“Rude, Iwa-chan!”

Hajime smiled so softly it was barely there. That was probably one of Tooru’s favorite phrases.

“I guess…if you love it here so much, I wouldn’t mind hanging around. No need to go hunting after each others lapel pins, after all.”

Oikawa’s brows arched. “Your thing is my lapel pin too?”

Hajime nodded. “At least, that’s what Lev told me.”

Tooru’s smile was perfection itself.

“Well isn’t that cute?” He teased lightly.

If he could breathe, all Hajime would be smelling right now was Tooru’s ridiculously high quality perfume.

No, not cologne, _perfume._

From inside the house, Morisuke and Lev were now on their knees just barely peaking over the windowsill.

“And now their making out in the middle of my front yard.” Yaku grumbled, but he didn’t seem adverse to it.

The Haiba at his side smiled. “I’m happy I was able to bring him back here. They must be so happy.”

“They sure _look_ happy.” Morisuke covered one eye, because the two spirits were _really_ getting into it.

He glanced up to see Lev looking down at him pointedly.

“Oh my god not now.”

“Mori…”

“No, Lev.”

“Mori…”

“I don’t care if you want to make out because they’re making out.”

“Mori…”

_“God dammit.”_

When Wakatoshi walked around the corner, having just finished prepping food for dinner in the kitchen, he just stopped and stood in the middle of the living room with a blank expression at the sight of his young Master lip locked with his boyfriend under the windowsill and the two yakuza ghosts swapping saliva in the air just outside.

He scratched the back of his head in confusion for a moment as Satori came strolling around from the kitchen as well, long arms swinging.

“Hey, what’s going…woooooooow….” He trailed off.

The two of them stood staring in silence for a moment before Ushijima turned to him.

“I suppose we should follow suit?”

Satori replied to this by flinging himself at Ushijima and knocking his fellow demon onto the couch behind him.

“Hell yeah!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all! So yup, it's gonna be kinda awkward when the rest of the family gets home, huh? XD   
> Also thanks to everyone for reading the notes in the previous chapter! If you haven't read them I highly suggest you do, because I've finished editing what I mentioned so that the story has more options to continue on with. I was just re-reading it a couple days back and was realizing I'd made some conflicting errors with my world-building here and there, as well as a few characters who would fit other roles far better than the ones I put them in. If you feel like going back to re-read it, go for it! Not a ton noticeably changed, the plot is still the same, it's just some cosmetic stuff for the world, like I edited the description for the Underground a bit tho it's still mostly the same, and I also made a character or two pull a vanishing act so I could use them later in the story! Well, I'm done! Please drop a comment down below, they help all these lovely couples not get walked in on by Ikumi, and please leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks so much for reading!


	34. 47 years coming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been wanting to do a chapter like this for AGES! Like...ever since the concept of ghosts and stuff entered my head for this story, you know I had to work in a haunting somewhere, and this was the perfect place for it!!! :D So here you go! Please enjoy~

**_The Next Morning._ **

 

“So that’s the story to why I came home to all of the couples who live in or around this house furiously kissing each other yesterday?” Mei asked as Morisuke finished his story.

“Yeah, yeah, let me live! It was Lev’s fault anyway.” Mori grumbled.

“Hey don’t make it sound like it was a bad thing!” The silver haired boy protested. Both of them were pajama clad, and now that spending the night was a common occurrence, Lev had just as many clothes stored about the Yaku household as Kenma did.

The twenty two year old necromancer currently making coffee in the kitchen shrugged.

“I honestly don’t care, just makes me wish I could find a mate already.”  
“Mate is such a weird word!” Yaku hissed as Mei poured two mugs of straight black coffee out.

Not a moment later Shin and Ikumi both came shuffling in, each other seizing a mug, grumbling a good morning, and leaving the room again.

Lev watched them go.

“They really aren’t morning people, huh?”

Yaku took another bite of his bagel. “Mom will perk up after her first mug of coffee. Shin will need another two or three just to be on normal operating level.”

Mei snickered. “True. Anyway, where are those two lovebird ghosts anyway?”

Morisuke shrugged. “This morning they asked me to perform a spell to locate some guy, said it was an old friend they wanted to check up on. Also, I’m pretty sure Kuroo taught them that old haunting enchantment my Mom gave him awhile back, and I think he went with them to wherever they went, but whatever. As long as they don’t do anything stupid.”

 

**_Downtown Tokyo._ **

 

Kojiro Yamada took a long, deep draught from his coffee cup. He scratched at his head of buzz cut black hair with crusty, wrinkled fingers adorned with golden rings to show his wealth thanks to times past. 

Considering just how awful of a man he’d been early on, and then continued to be most of his life, he’d made out pretty damn well. 

Killed some snitches, and then he’d orchestrated the fall of the Iwaizumi syndicate from inside for a hefty profit from a rival gang. He’d then brought that gang to it’s knees and ruled it until the Yakuza in general had begun a downwards spiral. He’d taken all the money he could and bailed. He’d hopped from country to country and now in his old age, nearing seventy, with no family left to speak of, he’d decided he wanted to spend what time he had left back in the city where he’d been born and had made his riches. 

Now he lived in a comfortable high rise apartment in the glitzy area of downtown. He had a cleaning service, a sprawling apartment, half of the rooms in which he barely ever used, and all the beer and sake he could drink.

Really, he had made out pretty well.

However, this particular morning, as he was sipping his coffee, something felt a little off. 

The air was getting cold, which was strange.

_Damn heater musta gotten switched off…_

He thought in irritation as he stood up, setting down his coffee and walking to the thermostat. At sixty nine, he was still in fairly good shape, and he intending to continue working his body ragged at the gym until it was no longer physically possible. 

The exercise made the sins crawling on his back just a _little_ easier to bear.

_But hell…dirty money spends just as well as clean money, don’t it?_

He snickered softly at his own joke as he lifted the plastic lid covering the thermostat.

“Eh?”

It still read that the air was the same temperature he’d set it on. 

But by now he was starting to get goosebumps, which was really prickling his sense of foul play.

_Trying to freeze me to death in my old age, are we?_

He knew he was paranoid. Everyone who knew his history and would pull something like that was either dead or in prison.

He shuffled back over the hardwood in his house slippers, heading back to his welcoming armchair and coffee mug when the shocking noise of shattering glass reaches his ears.

He nearly screamed, biting it down on age old instinct, and rushed the rest of the way into the living room.

His coffee mug, which he could recall setting firmly in the middle of the coffee table, lay broken on the floor.

He knelt next to the broken glassware and placed a finger in the spilled drink.

It had been steaming hot less than a minute ago, and now it was ice cold.

He stood up rapidly, backing into his bedroom and pulling open his side table, retrieving the gun he always kept loaded in there.

“Who’s there?” He demanded loudly as he flicked off the safety.

“Yoo-hoo, Ko-chan…that you? I’ve been in purgatory so naturally…I haven’t seen you in _ages._ ”

Kojiro hadn’t heard that voice in forty seven years.

His hands began shaking, his heart hammering as adrenaline pumped into his bloodstream.

“Who the hell is there?”

“Aw…come on…you’re telling me to don’t recognize me? Why…you were my mentor when I joined our clan. We worked together all the time. I never thought you’d wind up _murdering_ _me.”_

A figure came floating slowly around the corner, an innocent smile on his face. Placid expression, pretty boy looks, with overcoat, yakuza pin, boots and all just the same as that night that Yamada thought he’d long since buried away in the ‘nightmare’ section of his memory.

Kojiro pulled the trigger.

“INTRUDER!” He screeched.

The bullet went straight through his chest.

The figure put a hand to where it had passed through.

“Ooof…I almost _felt that._ ”

Oikawa Tooru, the man who’d barely just emerged from boyhood all those years ago, was there.

Or at least, his ghost was.

The gun hit the floor, skittering as Kojiro’s entire body broke into a quivering mess.

He scrambled backwards, knocking his lamp off his bedside table. It shattered when it hit the ground, the light of it going out. 

The shades were still drawn, and the light coming through from the living room went clearly through Tooru.

“You know…I always knew I’d die young…but nineteen? Really, Ko-chan? Did you really have too beat me to death for loving someone? Pretty sick, don’t you think? You caught a kid with a love letter and bludgeoned him to death for it. Then you went along with your business as before, and made so much dirty money that you must still have blood stuck under your ugly fingernails. Really, man, you should try to get a manicure every once in a while.”

He was floating above the air, it was dark, and Yamada was convinced this had to be some twisted nightmare.

Ghosts were stories to scare children. He’d seen things that truly _were_ terrifying. Ghosts and goblins and things that go bump in the night were nothing but campfire stories. 

Yet there one was. 

The spirit of a boy he’d murdered, executed cruelly for being guilty of the crime of loving someone.

“Ko-chan…it really hurt to die that way. You could have just put a bullet in my skull if you really had too…but you didn’t even give me the dignity of that. Now you’re living it up in a high rise? That doesn’t sound fair to me.”

Tooru leaned forward in front of Yamada, matching eyes with him.

“You really are a sorry rat bastard, huh?” 

The way his said it, his voice was so high and innocent, just like it had been when the final blow had been delivered, and he’d screamed until his spirit left his body.

A soul that had wandered for forty seven years, and had now come to find him.

Tooru crossed his arms.

“Tell me something, yeah? Did you rat Iwa-chan out to the Boss?”

Yamada frantically shook his head.

“N-No! Hell no! Get away from me!”

He pressed himself back further, climbing atop his bedside table in an attempt to get further away.

“Not till you give me an answer.” Oikawa growled.

“I didn’t! I swear, y-y-you…the heir lived, alright!? A nice long life! Just like I promised! Now get the hell out! Leave me alone!”

That was when a much deeper voice, yet another that he recognized, that made a chill run straight down his spine and his shaking intensify, joined the conversation.  
“Funny, I remember you being one of our boys that chased me out before I ended my own life…really, you’d think a guy would remember something like that, even in his senile old age.”

Yamada screamed, when the heir, the boy he’d chased out until he’d pointed a gun to his own head to end it himself, emerged through the wall right next to him.

He flung himself sideways, his side table toppling, all of it’s contents smashing to the floor as he clawed his way up onto the bed.

They kept coming closer, eyes burning with malice, and Kojiro cried out in horror.

“I DID! I DID! THE OTHER TWO THREATENED TO RAT ON ME IF I DIDN’T TELL’EM MYSELF SO I DID!”

He fell awkwardly onto his back off the other end of the bed and continued the painstaking shuffle backwards.

Tooru threaded his fingers together under his chin.

“Wow…here I thought you really did have a heart in that crusty old body of yours…you really did rat on me. I guess you were right, Iwa-chan.”

Hajime crossed his arms.

“I wish I’d put a bullet in your skull all those years ago before bit it myself.” He snarled.

Tooru sighed airily.

“It’s a sad, pathetic existence for you now, huh? You’ll be wandering around just like we are soon enough, there’s no way you got much more in you. I feel bad for you. We just needed each other to find the afterlife we wanted…but you have nothing, and no one.”

Hajime scoffed. “Guess you’ll just have to live with all those sins…and then you’ll have to be undead with’em. Good luck with that, asshole.”

Oikawa put his hands up in an uncaring fashion.

“Well, we just thought we’d stop in to say hello to an old friend…we’ll be leaving now…maybe we’ll pop in another time, and bring some company. What if you brought along all of the others you betrayed or killed?”

The old man shrank further into the corner they’d backed him in.

“N-No j-just..w-what do you w-w-want!?”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes.

“I’d be happy with ripping your heart out with my own two hands.”

He plunged forwards, as if daring to do just that.

Kojiro thought his heart might stop just at the approach.

Hajime quirked an eyebrow, just inches from his face.

“Too bad for me…”

He dove a hand right into the murders chest.

His whole body jolted and his breath went short. His whole body felt like it was chiseled from ice.

But nothing more happened.

The heir slowly retracted his arm as Yamada patted his chest frantically all over, feeling no puncture or any other sort of wound.

“I can’t do that. But I think I’ll be able to settle for you knowing that we’re at least going to live on together in death despite our sins…while you’ve done nothing but run away from them, and you’ll be alone when you come out the other side.”

Tooru gave a two fingered salute.

“Times up for us, Ko-chan…see you in hell.”

Then they were gone.

Yamada stared up at the space in the air where they had been for a few moments, blinking in confusion, because they hadn’t even faded away, or dove through the floor or the ceiling they were just…gone.

His eyes rolled up and he passed out cold.

 

**_On the Ghostly Side._ **

 

“I can’t believe we scared him so badly he passed out! That was the best thing ever!” Tooru exclaimed giddily.

“He really blacked out?” Kuroo asked, looking intrigued.

Hajime chuckled. “That was pretty satisfying…I guess being a ghost has it benefits.”

Kuroo gave him a thumbs up.

“See? Told you that enchantment is badass! It lets your spirit puncture the protective light around most people that blocks them from seeing!”

Tooru hummed. “It’s hard to believe that bastard had any light left in him at all.”

Iwaizumi brushed their cold, lifeless hands together.

“Hey, we took care of it, remember? I feel a little better, at least, knowing we put him in his place. He’ll be paranoid and nightmare ridden for whatever time the old geezer has left.”

Oikawa smiled. “Yeah, I guess there’s that.”  
Kuroo pointed down.

“Need me to dive out for a minute?” He asked cheekily.

“Tetsu-chan!” Tooru exclaimed with reddened cheeks visible even through his faded facade.

So they continued home without any need for Kuroo to give them a moment,  and yet, Iwaizumi’s pride was the only thing keeping him from telling Kuroo to take off ahead of them, and not to wait up.

They had an eternity to spend together in this purgatory, after all, there was no need to rush. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was 47 years coming, and they finally got to get their revenge!!! Awesome! Anyway, please drop a comment down below, they help Iwa and Oikawa live happily in death together with Kuroo snickering in the background, and please leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks for reading!  
> ALSO IMPORTANT HERE!  
> Just so everyone knows, I've been through the story and edited everything that I needed to the streamline my plot, this way I can have more interesting arcs that will have side ships and will lend to the all important YakuLev development, mostly with them helping these new couples, most of which won't be human, but they won't be dead either! :D So here's the major stuff you need to know, to save you going back and re-reading everything!
> 
> -Hinata has been completely removed (don't worry, he'll be back soon!)  
> -Editing cosmetic stuff in the Underground that made no sense (you probably won't really notice this one)  
> -General editing that was bothering me (I TRY TO EDIT SO HARD BUT IT NEVER GOES WELL ;-;)
> 
> Really that's about it!!! Nothing else I did is worth mention, so I hope that'll help you out! Yet again, thanks for reading!


	35. Changing Shape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO EXCITED OH MY GOD  
> ...  
> Yeah, this has been on my mind for a while and I edited the whole story to make it happen so I hope you like it!  
> Please enjoy~

It was one of the rare occasions Morisuke was over at Lev’s apartment instead of vice versa. The only reason this would normally occur was too have a play date with Tora, Lev’s kitten.

So that’s what they were doing right now, a movie was running on the TV, Alisa was at work, and Morisuke was lying on his stomach scrolling through his phone while Lev lay on his back, Tora pawing about on his stomach, seeming restless.

After a few moments, Lev’s eyes widened.

“Hey, Mori?”

“Hm?” The necromancer raised his eyes from his phone.

“Is it just me or is Tora looking a little…orange?”

Lev made to scoop her up, but Tora dodged the incoming hands and scampered under the couch for cover.

“Hey, come on, come out! We aren’t gonna hurt you.”

Lev cooed, leaning down to look under the couch. It was just as spotless under there as in the rest of his house, with only a few stray cat hairs from Tora having just bolted under there.

Morisuke dropped onto his chest and squinted under the couch.

“Whoa, you weren’t kidding! Tora, come out here, come on.”

He snapped his fingers twice, making red sparks fly. The kitten didn’t fall for it, wriggling further back.

Lev wrung his fingers. “I’m worried now…here, I’ll lift the couch and you grab her.”

Morisuke looked up at him like he was crazy.

“You can’t just pick up the couch like it’s nothing! You’ll hurt yourself!” He exclaimed.

Lev rolled his eyes. “It’s a stupid lightweight couch, my Dad’s all into the home convenience junk. I can pick it up with one hand.”

“Fine, fine…” Morisuke still didn’t seem convinced, but even so he began a countdown. 

“One…”

Lev braced the bottom lip and the back of the couch in his giant hands.

“…two…”

Morisuke lay flat on his stomach with arms prepped to grab.

“Three!”

Lev hefted the couch up a solid foot off the ground and Morisuke reached underneath it, grabbed ahold of the squirming fur ball and dragging her out.

“Hey, hey, hey…it’s alright…it’s alright!”

He insisted, trying to scratch the cat’s head in an attempt to calm it, only to have it thrash around harder. 

“See!” Lev exclaimed.

Sure enough, Tora’s fur was turning a worrying shade of orange starting at the end of her tail and the tips of her ears.

Morisuke held the still struggling kitten out at arms length, squinting at her fur.

“Ok…that’s really weird…did she get into anything lately that would stain her fur? Maybe we should give her a bath?”

Lev nodded hurriedly. “Maybe! Ok, I’ll run some warm water in the sink.”

A few minutes showed them standing in the kitchen, school uniform sleeves rolled back and blazers removed, with Morisuke still holding Tora dubiously at arms length.

“I’m scared we’ll get our eyes clawed out.” He muttered as he watched Lev squeeze a small amount of soap into the water, mixing it in until it was nice and sudsy.

Lev held his still wet hands over the sink as he looked back to Mori.

“I’ve heard some cats really like water…maybe Tora will be one of those cats? Hopefully that orange on her fur is just some make up from Alisa’s room or something.”

He could never remember his sister wearing orange make up, but it was worth hoping, right?

As it seemed, Tora was, in fact, one of the cats that liked water. At least, at first. When they first dipped her bottom paws into it, she actually stopped squirming, and the look of confusion on her face was frankly adorable.

“Um…” Morisuke, who’d been put in charge of holding the cat while Lev tried to wash the orange off, seemed unsure of how to proceed.

“Just dip her down up to her neck and I’ll pour a little on her head.”

Lev advised, already prepped with a cup to do just that.

After the first few seconds of scrubbing, Tora was oddly docile.

“The warm water seems to be relaxing to her.” Morisuke commented, most of his forearms now covered in suds as Lev worked soap into the orange part of Tora’s tail.

About five minutes went by where they washed the kitten throughly, and it was now that she started the struggle once more.

“Just a bit more, Tora, just gotta rinse you off!”

Lev pulled the rinse attachment from next to the faucet and switched it on, hitting the cat with a spray of water. While it wasn’t overly hard, it was much softer than most shower heads, this seemed to be Tora’s breaking point. She let out a low hissing sound and flailed, causing Morisuke to drop her into the water. 

She burst forth from it with another round of hissing, scrambling onto the countertop, leaping over Lev’s forearms as she did so. 

When her claws dug into his arm, he screamed and dropped the rinser, which promptly spun in the air, spraying Morisuke before he managed to catch it, accidentally directing it into spraying Lev.

“Mori! That didn’t work! She’s almost entirely orange now! What’s happening!?”

“GIVE ME A DAMN MINUTE!” The smaller boy shouted as he finally managed to shut off the rinse head, not before his hair was dripping and his sweater vest had a large wet spot right in the center of it. His tie hung limply, also wet. Lev was equally soaked, but didn’t seem to care. He was clutching at Tora, who, sure enough, was pretty much entirely orange now.

This really wouldn’t have been weird, she looked like your typical orange long haired cat, however, knowing she had formerly been a pure snowy white, it was alarming.

“Does it have something to do with magic!? Are we, like, dyeing her a different color on accident?”

Morisuke, who was toweling his head off with a dishrag as the sink drained out, replied.

“I’ve never heard of that happening before! Besides, my magic is red and yours is blue, and I’m no artist but I don’t think red and blue make orange!” 

Lev, meanwhile, had mostly managed to try Tora off with another spare towel they’d gotten out.

“Still! Can we take her to your Mom? She’d know, right?”

Morisuke hurried into the foyer.

“Sure, sure! Do you have a pet carrier?”

“In the closet!”

Morisuke flung open the closet, and sure enough, amongst the other impeccably organized supplies, tucked into the bottom right corner was a small pop up cat carrier with metal supports and a mesh front.

The necromancer fumbled with the thing for a moment, finally managing to get it to pop open and secured the thin little bars that kept it from collapsing before he hurried it over to Lev.

Lev gently maneuvered Tora into the carrier and closed the front before picking it up by the carrying handle.

“Ok, let's go!” He insisted, shoving his feet into his school shoes, not wanting to bother digging out sneakers and lacing them up.

Morisuke followed suit, snatching up both their bags and they went flying out the door.

They exited the complex gates and, as had become usual, the skinny black cat came hurtling out of absolutely nowhere. However, this time it let out several garbled meowing sounds and leapt at the pet carrier.

“Not today!”

Lev lifted the carrier out of reach and they continued to run, not looking back.

By the time they made it up the hill and through the gates of Morisuke’s house, they were both too out of breath to speak. Despite being on a national ranking sports team, they were exhausted as Morisuke forced the door open.

“MOM!” He yelled the second he gained enough breath to do so.

Ikumi came thundering down the stairs a moment later.

“What!? What’s wrong!? Are you boys ok!?”

“MY CAT TURNED ORANGE!” Lev cried out, holding the carrier in her direction.

Ikumi furrowed her brow as she took the carrier and looked through the mesh at poor Tora, who was flat on the floor with claws dug into the bottom of the carrier from the bumpy ride.

“What color did she used to be?” She asked as she took the carrier into the living room and dropped to her knees on the carpet, setting the carrier down gently.

“White!” Morisuke managed between panting.

Lev had finally managed to catch his breath more or less completely.

“We were just lying around at my apartment, playing with her, and her ears and tail stared to turn orange! I hadn’t really noticed if they were or weren’t orange before I got back, so we assumed she’d gotten into my sisters make up or something, and gave her a bath.”

“So that’s why you’re both wet.” She mused in passing.

Lev threw his arms up. “Ikumi-san!”

She waved a hand at him.

“Alright, alright…come on baby…it’s ok…” She murmured as she reached in and pulled the cat out from the carrier.

The soothed the poor thing for a moment, still scared stiff from being rushed over here, and then she gently brushed the fur back at the nape of Tora’s neck, squinting.

“Mori. Cheaters.” She ordered, making a grabby hand in his direction while cradling the tiny Tora in the other.

Morisuke dodged around her into the kitchen, the sound of a drawer opening and closing reached their ears, and then he returned with the thick red dollar store glasses.

She took them, snapped them open, and slide them on.

Ikumi then returned to looking down at the nape of the kittens neck. The feline was squirming again, but it’s ridiculously small size made it impossible for it to do much damage and make an escape.

A few seconds passed before Ikumi audible gasped, then covered her mouth.

“Lev…where exactly did you get this cat?” She snapped, looking over her shoulder at him.

Lev frowned. “At the animal shelter, what do you mean? Is something wrong with her?”

Ikumi sighed and shook her head.

“No…just…”

She lifted the now orange kitten and turned it around to face her.

“You’re busted, little shifter, you can change back now. You must be awfully tired holding that form for so long.”

Morisuke and Lev stared at her in confusion before a loud crack echoed through the house like a whip snapping, and sitting in the woman lap, instead of a tiny kitten, was a short young man with a head of bright orange spiky hair, large cat ears stood on end, and a fluffy tail poking from beneath his shirt. He was wearing an overlarge black long sleeve that hung off one shoulder slightly and a pair of jeans cuffed up to his ankles. His fingernails and toenails were dark and sharp, like the claws he’d had as a cat.

Only this time a set of lantern like honey brown eyes were staring at Ikumi incredulously, paying no heed to the fact that he was in her lap.

“How…did you know?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! So, there you have it, that's why ghosty Hinata had to disappear because I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to do this shifters idea and now it's happening! :D Anyway, please drop a comment down below, they help Hinata get some clothes that actually fit, please leave kudos if you haven't been here before, and as always thanks so much for reading! :D


	36. Memories Lost and Times Ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to continue our fun with an orange floof! :D   
> Please enjoy~

“How…did you know?”

The guy that had been Lev’s cat approximately three seconds ago asked.

“Wait…WHAT!?” Lev shouted, clutching at his head as Yaku slapped himself on the forehead.

“Your cat was a shifter this whole time!?” He shouted in disbelief.

“What’s a shifter?” Lev asked, clearly completely lost.

Yaku groaned, dragging his hand down over his face.

“They’re…like…people, sort of. Not really human, though. They’re animals who can take human forms, and most times they live with necromancers in a similar relationship to demon servants but…I thought a shifter could only hold their animal form for a couple weeks straight without changing back! You’ve had Tora for well over four months!”

The orange haired boy sure enough did seem to be strung out. His shirt was obvious not to size, but even with that fact you could see he was skinny. His eyes were heavy and it looked like the anxiety of the situation was the only thing keeping him from passing out then and there.

Ikumi gently scooted him off of her lap, but didn’t stand up. Instead, she knelt there on the ground with him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“My name is Yaku Ikumi, ok? This is my son Morisuke, and his boyfriend Haiba Lev. I’m sure you already know both of them…how is your head?” She asked.

The boy seemed to vaguely process what she’d asked him before he lifted his arm and rested his hand on his forehead. He kept his fingers curled in, giving the impression that he wasn’t fully used to being in his human shape after so long.

“It’s ok…just tired.” He admitted.

“Can you remember your name?”

The boy blinked furrowing his brow for a moment before shaking his head slowly. His shoulders were sagging, all of the fear of his discovery wearing down to be replaced by exhaustion.

Ikumi blew out a long, steady breath.

“Ok…ok, that’s alright. I’ll take you down to the basement, it’s nice and warm and dark down there. I have two demon servants. Do you know what those are?”

A nod.

“Good. They’re both down there, and they might look scary but they won’t hurt you. I have hammocks and bunk beds along with their bed as well down there. It’s all set up for magical beings like you to be comfortable while you stay. I’ll let you rest and once you wake up we’ll see if you’ve managed to regain some semblance of your usual self, ok?”

Another nod.

Without a word to the boys, Ikumi stood up and carried the shifter out of the room. Lev and Morisuke shared a glance before they followed her. The basement door looked like something that would lead to a crawl space, thin wood and a small knob. The door was only about four feet high, and it was made to look like it led to a cupboard under their stairs. Instead, when the tiny door swung back a set of spindly, creaky stairs led downward.

They were very steep and uneven, but the trends were strong. Ikumi ducked her head, short auburn hair swishing behind her as she slipped through the opening, drumming her feet easily down the familiar stairs, folding the young man she held closer to her in order to be certain she wouldn’t knock his head off the thin metal railing. The basement was huge, it took up all the square footage of the entire ground floor above it. Across the way from the stairs the entire wall was a singular fireplace. From the ground there was a long set of grates and there out flames were burning from seemingly nothing.

“Whoa…” Lev mumbled, the flames reflecting in his eyes, the heat tinging his cheeks pink.

Morisuke glanced up at him.

“You’ve never been down here before?” He asked, surprised.

Lev shook his head. “How is it burning with no smoke?”

Morisuke simply pointed to the back corner.

Lev’s head swiveled that direction to see a bedroom set up. A large king bed of the same old wood that most other furniture in this house was made of, along with a wardrobe, two armchairs, and a small coffee table were all set out neatly into the space between the stairs and the side wall. 

“Oh…this is where Ushijima-san and Tendou-san live?” He asked.

Yaku hummed. “They say the warmth and nothing but the light from the flames make them feel more at home. Most magical beings who’ve stayed with us before prefer it to be really warm when they sleep, so it’s never been an issue before. We do have a few more spare beds in the attic for those who like it cooler, though.” 

The rest of the area was filled with comfortable housing for plenty other mystical creatures. There were four sets of bunk beds across the wall to the right, and a few low wooden cots were laid out a safe distance in front of the fire. Finally, between the stairs and the space to the left, from the other railing were hung several small cocoon like hammocks filled with pillows and blankets. 

Tendou glanced up from his book, feet up on the coffee table, and raised an eyebrow.

“Have we got a new roommate?” He asked, and despite the light hearted question, his tone was serious.

Ikumi carefully settled the shifter, who’d fallen asleep in her arms on the way down the stairs, into one of the hammocks. The fabric cradled him and she carefully pulled one of the blankets over him. 

Once this was done, and she made certain he in a comfortable position, she crooked her finger at Satori and then went hurrying back up the stairs.

Tendou only paused to give a shove to the napping form of his boyfriend in bed before following after her.

They all ascended to the living room again, and once they were there Ikumi let out a loud groan, raking her hands through her hair.

Ushijima came hurrying up from down below, pulling a shirt over his head as he went.

“What happened?” He asked as he entered.

“Apparently the cat I adopted at the animal shelter almost five months ago actually a…what did you call it, a shifter?” Lev asked, looking to Ikumi.

The woman nodded, taking a heavy seat on the couch, arms flopping to her sides.

“This is going to be complicated…I’ve taken care of shifters before, they’re very friendly for the most part. Just as friendly as humans or demons can be, that is, there’s the bad apples, but for the most part they’re a kind species that depend on others to help take care of them. Shifters are historically known for being guardians. Faithful, steadfast, and loyal to whoever takes care of them.”

Lev frowned. “That makes them seem almost like pets, doesn’t it? Why can’t they take care of themselves?”

Ikumi clicked her tongue. “Oh, no, no. On the surface it appears that way, but the way a shifters magic works is a cycle that should never be pushed. If they remain too long a human, they’ll begin to have animalistic traits seem into their personality until they’re forced to change to animals. Stay animals too long, and they’ll begin to lose touch with their human personalities, and their memories. That’s what happened to the boy who used to be your cat. He was hiding from something, or someone, and decided he’d hide himself in a shelter as an animal. Shifters will rarely protest against a human posing as a fellow human. It’s in their nature to protect and serve, not antagonize. Even so, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone broke the status quo and that’s why we’ve got that little shifter in our basement right now. Thing is, he even went so far as to change his natural color, so that says something about how badly he wanted to hide.”

Lev crossed his arms. “And his gender?” He demanded.

Ikumi looked at him flatly. “I’m pretty sure that was just you not knowing the difference between a girl cat and a guy cat.”

While Lev seemed to be trying to figure out if this was the truth or not, Ushijima gave a soft rumbling hum from deep in his chest.

“So…he’ll be staying with us?”

Ikumi nodded. “Of course! At least until he’s able to regain most of his human memories. As it is right now the poor kid can’t even remember his own name!”

Lev’s eyes grew heavy just then, as he lifted one hand to bite anxiously at his thumbnail.

“Was it my fault? Was there anything I could have done?” 

Morisuke was quick to leap to the defense.

“No, no! Lev, you couldn’t have known he was a shifter, and it was his choice to hide as an animal. He could have run away if he wanted, or turned himself back into a human to unlock your door. He could have left anytime, you couldn’t have done anything to change him!”

Lev dropped his hand.

“Ok…I guess you’re right.”

He still seemed pretty upset.

Satori, meanwhile, raised his hand.

“Not to point out the elephant in the room or anything, but aren’t shifters like…nearly extinct at this point? The only ones I’ve ever met lived in the Underground.”

Ikumi massaged her temples.

“That’s another thing. I’m betting the little one took advantage of his small animal form to hide from poachers or kidnappers intent on selling him off…”

She threw her arms up. “He probably went through a hell of a lot just to end up in that shelter!”

Yaku crossed his arms.

“Well…at least he’s safe here, that’s something.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So poor shifter baby has no memory but hey, maybe a nap can change that? Please drop a comment down below, they help Shouyou *because everyone knows what his name is* sleep well, and leave kudos if you've never been here before! Thanks so much for reading!


	37. Thoughts of Yesterday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hint at some stuff from the past, tell you what's going on in the present, and we'll have to wait and see about the future! Please enjoy~

**_The Next Morning, 2 AM._ **

 

Ikumi had to stifling a yawn from where she sat on one of the couches in the living room, her thick red cheater glasses on her face. Her short auburn hair was frazzled, and she was wearing a pair of old PINK brand black sweat paints with an overlarge red sweatshirt she got from god knows where with something or another in Arabic scrawled across the chest. She’d been a traveller, a wanderer as a child. A hypocrite, she was, keeping her three babies sheltered and contained, as when she was thirteen she was taking dragons and portals all across the globe by herself. 

_It was on one of these trips I met him…_

She shook her head rapidly, eyes prickling with a long forgotten burn. 

_“You seem lost…can I help you?”_

_“You dress like you’re from a whole other era…I think capes went out of fashion in the seventeenth century!”_

_“I…can’t do this anymore, Ikumi. I can see our Mei. I can see our Shin. But I can’t see what our little ones are seeing…Mei ran to me the other day claiming she had a crush on this ghost of a yakuza member…Shin nearly lit my hair on fire with his weird red sparks…if this third one sees them too…and is just as much like you as them…then that means it’s over…I can’t keep believing in a world I can’t see..even if that means I can’t believe in you.”_

That had been almost seventeen years ago now. Mori hadn’t even been a year old, and now he was almost full grown, with an adorable little boyfriend of his own.

_Well…Lev’s not exactly ‘little’ but still…_

This returned her mood to it’s previous placidness. 

She didn’t need to think of things like that at the moment. 

Still, in times calm and quiet like this, when she had a spare moment to just be, thoughts of him came to mind. 

Her fingers brushed over the worn pages of the book in her lap, recalling where she’d gotten this particular issue from. It was one of her favorites, a classic about a heroine fighting demons and falling in love.

_Norio said I reminded him of this heroine girl…that’s why he gave me this book, he said he wasn’t as handsome or interesting as her love interest sounded…_

She felt a smile tickle her cheeks once more as the rosy red of her schoolgirl self made an appearance.

_…he was more than the man in this book could ever hope to be…if only he could have seen through the same eyes…_

She was shaken from her reprieve of thoughts when the basement door creaked open. Her head snapped towards it so fast her glasses went askew.

The orange haired shifter was poking his head out, ears erect and eyes wide, uncertain of how to proceed.

Ikumi carefully stood on slippered feet, setting the worn old novel down and folding her cheaters next to it.

“Hello, sweetie…are you feeling better?” She asked, making sure to keep her voice low and calm. The last thing the poor boy needed was her harping over his health, and after all, his body would recover from the exhaustion and magical strain in due time, it was his mental state that she was worried about.

He hesitated, coming the rest of the way out from the cupboard looking basement door and stepping in her direction. The soft tap of his claw like nails on the hardwood was the only audible sound he made for a few moments.

Once he’d arrived at the edge of the living room he grasped at one elbow shyly.

“I…uh…yeah. Thanks for helping me earlier.”

Ikumi smiled warmly, then gently moved forward and took him by the arm.

“Of course, come over the kitchen, dear, you must be starving.”

The shifter took a breath, and whether to protest or agree, Ikumi’d never know because his stomach growled loudly at the mention of actual _human_ sustenance as opposed to the alternation between dry and wet cat food and tap water he’d been living off of.

Ikumi giggled softly at the heavy blush that spread across his face before entering the kitchen.

“Take a seat, have you remembered anything yet?”

She asked this in a conversational tone, assuring this young man knew for a fact she saw him as an equal, just as much a living being as she or her children were. That was something he might have faced issue with before.

Another pregnant pause before the boy began.

“I did…my name is Shouyou. I’m sorry I didn’t remember earlier, my head was all fuzzy. Most everything has come back by now.”

Ikumi smiled as she set one of Wakatoshi’s muffins down in front of him along with a mug of tea. They’d had a lukewarm pot leftover on the stove, she’d been saving it in the event the shifter would awaken at some point during the night. 

“That’s wonderful to hear, Shouyou. It’s very nice to properly meet you. So, why did you hide in that shelter? You even went so far as to change your natural color, so you must really have wanted to get away.”

Shouyou’s face turned a touch annoyed and he took a rather aggressive bite from the muffin.

“It was just this stupid friend of mine…I…he wanted us to stay on our own, but these people kept chasing us and trying to kidnap us, so I said we should find a magic family or something to take care of us. We had an old man like that when we were little, but he passed away almost year ago. He had no family left, so we laid him to rest and then we were forced to leave the house since humans who weren’t magic came to take the house away.”

Shouyou sniffled softly at the thought, wiping harshly at his eyes with the sleeve of his overlarge shirt.

“I’m so sorry for your lost.” Ikumi said earnestly.

The orange haired boy shook his head, ears flattening with focus on not tearing up any further.

“No, it’s ok. He lived a good life, and he raised us from kittens it’s just…after we ran for a while, I was so tired. He kept insisting we couldn’t trust anyone else, and we had to be alone. Then, about five months ago, we escaped from some poachers and I was all beat up because I’d fallen and he’d had to come back and pick me up. I’m pretty fast, but I’m not strong or tall like he is…we had to run for a really long time…he gave me his shirt since mine had been ripped really badly in the fall, he had a jacket he could wear anyway, and he used my old shirt to make strips for bandages.”

Sure enough, when Shouyou rolled back the overlong sleeves of his shirt, it revealed several white strips that had once been a tee shirt tied sloppily over spots where scars were peeking out.

“Why haven’t you removed them yet? You’ve healed, right?” Ikumi asked worriedly, praying he hadn’t gotten some sort of infection or worse. 

Shouyou nodded slowly. “Yeah, but I’ve been in my animal form this whole time, so I wasn’t really thinking about it.”

He put a hand over the awkward knots that had been done with care, with the makers very best effort, and sniffled.

The Mother of three got the impression he’d left them on for a different reason than forgetfulness, but she didn’t bring it up.

“So…why aren’t you with him now?” 

The shifters hands fisted tightly in his lap.

“We were walking and I was going really slow because my whole body hurt…he told me to keep up, and I told him maybe we should try to find some magic users who weren’t mean like the ones chasing us…I’d suggested it a bunch of times before but he’d always just brushed it off, saying we were fine alone. _He_ was fine alone. Instead of just ignoring me like he normally would, though, he got so angry and just rounded on me."

Shouyou raked his hands into his hair, flattening his ears. "He started saying all sorts of awful things, like how small my animal form was, and how if I couldn’t keep up he’d leave me behind, and how I’d just put him in danger over and over again. If I wanted some humans to take care of me then I could just go check myself into an animal shelter. He’s such a jerk! He’s younger than me, too! How could he talk to me like that! He was so mean! So I left! I hid in the animal shelter and changed the color of my fur because I didn’t want to deal with his attitude anymore!"

The boy threw his arms up. "He’s done this before! So many times! I was done! I wasn’t going to put up with it anymore! I’m sorry I’m short and you’re tall, I’m sorry you’re big and I’m small, I’m sorry you’re strong and I’m weak, but I’m all you have left, aren’t I!? You…you…idiot!”

Shouyou had risen his voice by the end of this, and tears were bubbling up in his eyes again.

Ikumi gave a sympathetic sigh, coming around the countertop with her arms open. The shifter seemed like he really needed a hug right now, because he took the offer, sobbing against her shoulder.

“…he was all I had left…and now…”

He hiccuped, unable to keep it down.

“…now I’m so worried, I don’t know where he is. By now he could be all the way on the other side of the country by now! But…I’m not gonna be the one to apologize this time. I’m always the one apologizing for his attitude, just so he can get over it. I know he’s hurt just as much as I am but I can’t deal with him acting that way on top of everything else!”

Ikumi hushed him softly. “I understand, really, I do…”

Her thoughts went back to those years long ago, but she halted them before they could get out of control.

“…you’re welcome to stay here with us, if you’d like. We have plenty of room for you.”

The animal boy hesitated. “R-Really?”

She ran her hand over his spiky hair and scratched right behind one of his ears, which caused him to make a noise similar to a purr.

“Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to flesh Ikumi out a bit more, I felt like she needed this and there's no time like when you're up at 2 AM waiting for the shapeshifter in your basement to wake up and regain his memories to think back to the romance that gave you three children and a broken heart ;-; Well, please drop a comment down below, they help Ikumi keep on trucking, and please leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks so much for reading!


	38. Fluffy Apologies {Literally}

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited! This is gonna be a really fun chapter, and it'll give us our little finish with Shouyou's arc :D Well, I hope you like it as much as I liked writing it!  
> Please enjoy~

**_A Few Days Later._ **

 

“We’re back!” Morisuke called into he house as he entered, closely followed by Lev. Both of them dumped their book bags and sports bags to the ground by the stairs and headed into the living room.

“Welcome back! How was school? Did you guys practice?” Came the excitable voice of the shifter who’d made himself a staple rather quickly.

He sprung up from where he’d been sat on the couch watching TV and scampered over to them. 

“Yeah, it was great! I’m gonna be the ace soon!” Lev insisted, proudly, striking a pose.

“You got hit the in face. Twice.” Yaku reminded.

“Hey, don’t get down on the guy. You’re still making progress.” Iwaizumi floated in, closely followed by Tooru and the other three ghosts. 

Suga put his palms to the ceiling. “I played volleyball before I died, and really, I think Lev is getting better pretty quick for having not played volleyball before.”

“See!?” Lev exclaimed, gesturing wildly back at the two of them.

Morisuke rolled his eyes. “I’m not saying you suck, I’m saying you get smacked a lot and aren’t gonna be the ace for another year _at least._ ”

Lev pouted at him and before he turned and plopped back into one of the couches.

“I’ll show you, Mori! I’m gonna be the ace before you graduate!”

“Good luck with that.” 

“Rude!”

“You’ve been hanging around Tooru too much.”

Lev groaned, giving up the argument before he bent and rolled up his pants leg.

“That stupid black cat scratched me again!”

Morisuke bent in order to look at the bloody little gashes that the tiny beast had left behind. “Babe, that’s some pretty deep scratches, why didn’t you say anything? There’s blood running down into your sock!” The auburn haired boy exclaimed before he turned and dashed into the kitchen. 

“I didn’t really think about it. I’ve become impervious to cat scratches ever since that little weasel started trying to maul me every time I walk past my own apartment building.” Lev replied in a comedic tone, clearly not all that worried about it as he took the paper towel Morisuke had offered to stop the bleeding.

“Well, you aren’t immune to getting infections, and with you getting scratched so often we’re out of band aids and peroxide! I’m gonna run down to the corner store.”

Lev made to stand up. “I’ll come!” He volunteered.

Morisuke casually shoved him back down onto the couch. 

“You’re more tired than you let on. Just hang around here and tell Shouyou about volleyball or something.”

“YEAH! THROW THE BALL WITH ME!” The shifter hurled himself across the room and landed solidly in Lev’s lap, fluffy orange tail swaying wildly with excitement.

“OOF!” Lev got the wind knocked out of him. While Shouyou was small, he was still a normal fourteen year old kid.

Who just so happened to be able to turn into a tiny cat.

Yeah.

Normal. 

Yaku couldn’t help but smile at them before he turned to the foyer. 

“I’ll be right back.”

He headed out at a brisk walk, still in his school uniform with sleeves unbuttoned and rolled up to his elbows.

“So, hows practice going for you? Soon the spring tournament will be here, and then that’s it. You’ll graduate, stay home, and do magic full time.” Suga posed this to them as they went along.

Morisuke glanced casually from side to side in order to make sure no one was within earshot before responding without looking up at the ghost.

“It’s alright. I’m just enjoying the sport while I’m still at it. Trust me, I’ll be happy when I graduate. Pretty much the only good things left at school are volleyball, Kenma, and Lev.” 

Suga hummed, holding his hands behind his head.

“Speaking of, where is Kenma?” 

Yaku checked his watch. “He’s coming over after he stops by his house. I think he got something from Lukas, and I’m a little worried about it…he says it’s nothing but he won’t show me it, so it must be something worth worrying about…I know him.” 

The silver haired ghost sighed, shrugging. “Kenma’s mind is an enigma.” He said mysteriously. 

Morisuke snickered under his breath at this, while a dog walker on the other side of the street gave him a peculiar sideways look. 

Ever since he’d started dating Lev, though, those looks had hurt less, and now here he was, feeling not even agitated at the way that dog walker looked at him like he was crazy. 

He arrived at the convenience store, Suga at his side all the way, bought the first aid materials, and as he was leaving the ash blonde lowered himself down to speak with him softer.

“Don’t look now, but there’s a kid in a blue hoodie tailing us. He followed us inside and now he’s stalking us home. He seems off…I…I think he can see me.”

Morisuke paused at a nearby street sign, then slowly swiveled as if to glance back at the corner store. As he did so, sure enough, a rather tall boy with a blue hoodie and black bangs nearly covering his eyes froze and promptly began as if he were extremely fascinated in a nearby tree. 

The young necromancer raised an eyebrow and sighed, raking his fingers through his hair.

“This just isn’t our week, huh?” He commented to Suga before walking right up to the supposed stalker.

“Ok, you’re clearly not human. Who are you, exactly? And how can I help you?”

The poor boy jumped something horrible, blue eyes flooded with astonishment tinged with just a bit of terror.

“H-How did you know?” He didn’t even bother with denying it.

The youngest Yaku just shook his head. “You’re not wearing shoes, you’re hiding your hands in your pockets, and you have your hoodie up, which shows that there’s something bulky underneath said hoodie. What is it? Ears? Horns? Walk with me.” 

Morisuke was more than a little used to these types of situations, and when he started walking again he wasn’t all surprised that the nonhuman boy followed.

They said nothing until they arrived at the path through the small section of wooded area through which they took the path towards the creepy house on the hill. 

“So.” Morisuke began pointedly, raising an eyebrow up to the taller male.

The boy fidgeted with this hands in his hoodie pockets, sparkling blue eyes heavy. 

“I…uh…I…” 

Yaku exhaled heavily, because over the past week he’d reunited two gay yakuza lovers from the seventies, been walked in on making out with his boyfriend by his sister, found out his boyfriends cat was a shifter, and now this. 

_Even so, no need to take it out on him. He seems younger than his height suggests._

Morisuke reminded himself, trying to regain his usual friendly demeanor when dealing with creatures of magical origin.

“Sorry, it’s jut been a long week. I’m Yaku Morisuke. Who are you?”

He paused in their stroll, offering a handshake.

The boy hesitated before drawing his hand from his pocket.

Dark, pointed nails, sharp as a cats claws.

“Tobio.” He said awkwardly, clearly not happy with his situation.

Morisuke eyed his nails for a moment before smiling softly.

“Ah, so you’re a shifter, then?”

Blue eyes widened and he quickly retracted his hand again.

Morisuke then eyed his features. Dark hair, extremely tall for the roundness of his face, which gave hint he was younger than Morisuke by a good bit, and, what really stood out, his eyes.

Blue eyes, startlingly so, they were bright and larger than expected if you looked close enough.

Morisuke smirked and then continued walking.  
“So, mind telling me why you keep attacking my boyfriend every time he tries to leave his apartment?”

Tobio stiffened. “H-How did you…?”

Yaku shrugged. “I’ve been doing this a while. You look more like your animal form than you realize, and you clearly weren’t trying to hide anything since your fur was the exact color as your hair, and your eyes are pretty impressively colorful for a cat.”

The young shifter groaned. “I knew I should have changed my fur color!”

His necromancy practicing companion crossed his arms.

“Alright, now tell me why you were attacking him? Let me guess , it’s got something to do with Shouyou?”

Tobio took a sharp inhale. “Is he ok? Did he change back? Is he hurt?”

Mori put a hand up placating. “Yes, yes, and no. He’s fine, seems to be completely back to normal. He’s a really energetic little guy.”

“He’s not much shorter than you.” Tobio pointed out ignorantly.

“NOT THE POINT!” Yaku snapped a finger in his face, red sparks flying.

Suga, who’d been mostly silent to this point, snickered behind his palm but otherwise tried not to disturb.

After this, the auburn haired third year tucked his hands behind his head.

“So, how did you and Shouyou get separated? Poachers?” He asked, since this seemed the logical conclusion, and his logic had served him well thus far.

Tobio hesitated, yet again wringing his hands in his pockets.

“N-Not really…I mean, I guess that had something to do with it but…”

He trailed off before shaking his head slowly.

“I said some really stupid things…I was upset he’d gotten hurt, that I wasn’t fast enough to stop him from getting hurt…and then he said something about how he wanted to find some humans to stay with. He’d say it more and more often…because I’m not enough to make sure he doesn’t get hurt, and for some reason when he said it the last time it just made me so mad. I wanted him to see how important he is too me! As long as I’m there, he should be invincible…or at least…that was something he’d always say to me when we were kittens.”

Yaku raised an eyebrow. “Oh great…so you hit him right in the spot he was the most insecure, which is his size, then told him wanting to be safe somewhere made him weak, all because you thought he’d never actually leave. Then he _did_ leave because he was sick of your attitude?”

Tobio removed his hands from his pockets and buried his face in them. 

“I know! I messed up! I was really stressed out and upset and…that’s not an excuse it’s just…” 

Morisuke sighed. “Tell it to him, not to me.”

“So he is with you!” Tobio exclaimed, looking ready to melt in relief that Shouyou was, indeed, safe at the necromancers house.

“Yeah, though I can’t guarantee that he’ll be all that happy to see you. He hasn’t said a word about you to me or anyone else to my knowledge. He might have talked to my Mom about it when he first woke up, but I can’t be sure.” The knife wielder explained.

So they headed up the path to the house, and when Morisuke headed in, Tobio loitered on the deck outside.

Not a moment later a loud screechy.

“WHAAAAT!?” Echoed through the house, and Suga poked his head through the wall after a moment or two.

“He’s coming.” The ash blonde said.

This sounded more like a warning than a simple message, but all the same Tobio steeled himself before the door. 

The door swung back open again, having been shut by Morisuke, and standing there was Shouyou.

His partner. 

His friend. 

His only lifeline.

“Uh…Tobio…hi. So…you were following me this whole time?”

The raven haired boy winced at the awkward greeting.

“I just…I smelled your scent on him and ever since I’ve been…around.”

That seemed like a decent enough response, didn’t it?

The orange haired boy glanced over his shoulder before taking a step back.

“I guess you should come in.” He managed.

His eyes were glossy with held back emotions, words yet for him to say.

“I guess I should.” Tobio stepped up onto the door jam and took the offer of entry.

They headed into the living room, Tobio unaware that the entire collection of occupants of this house, which consisted of six necromancers (Kenma had arrived while Morisuke was out) two demons, and five ghosts, were hiding in the kitchen to eavesdrop on the drama.

Well.

This was going to be uncomfortable. 

Shouyou squirmed awkwardly in his seat while Tobio just freaking _stood_ in front of him for a second.

“So…why are you here?” The orange furred shifter managed finally.

“I need too ap…” The rest of the word came too softly from Tobio’s mouth to hear.

“What?’ Shouyou’s ears perked up in an attempt to pick it up.

“I…I need to apol…” 

“I can’t hear you!” The shorter insisted.

Tobio grit his teeth and then he promptly bowed so low it was miracle his legs didn’t break backwards.

“I NEED TO APOLOGIZE!”

Shouyou flung himself backwards at the sudden yelling and the entire group all concealed in the kitchen and peaking around the wall jumped.

A few moments went by and Tobio still hadn’t straightened up.

“I said some really awful things, but I was just stressed out because I wanted you to feel safe with me and not need anyone else!”

Shouyou’s shoulders relaxed for the first time since the raven haired boy’s arrival at this, and he grinned. 

“Oh, well then it’s ok!”

His fellow shifter lifted his head up in dumb shock.

“W-Wait…really?”

“Uh-huh! I knew you didn’t mean any of that, stupid, but even if you don’t mean it, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. Think before you run your mouth next time!” Shouyou said this all rather cheerily.

Tobio’s eyes lit up.

“You’re right…I…I was a dumbass.”

Shouyou sniggered. “You’re supposed to call me that, not yourself.” 

“Fine then, I guess you’re the dumbass!” He threw his arms around Shouyou’s waist and picked him clean up off the couch.

“And you’re an idiot!” The shorter boy chirped back.

“Oy!”

“You heard me, id-i-ot, you're an id-i…”

Tobio silenced him with a kiss.

Shouyou was _all_ for it.

“WHAT THE HELL!?” Morisuke roared.

They broke apart to see everyone who’d been watching what was supposed to be a reunion of two best friends with their jaws dropped. 

Shouyou seemed befuddled.

“Wait…I didn’t mention we were dating to you guys? I coulda sworn I said something about it.” 

“Nope!” Ikumi managed between how she was dying of laughter on the floor next to Shin, who was shaking his head slowly.

“Really? The cats too? We’re gonna have to try harder for cutest couple, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa exclaimed in a whiny pitch.

“No way in hell.” Hajime replied dully, ignoring how Tooru was clinging onto his shoulders. 

Tendou gave an appraising hum. “They _are_ pretty adorable, and the cat ears bump that cuteness rating up. Horns, not so much, guess we’re not gay enough to make up for it, huh Waka?”

Ushijima merely shrugged. “I’m not sure how to measure levels of gay cuteness, my apologies.”

“Say, speaking of gay, Lev, your sister is really hot.” Mei commented randomly.

“Thanks, she’s really…wait what!?” The green eyed boys head had never turned so fast in his left.

Mei shrugged. “Just…just thought I’d put that out there.”

“You too?” Shin demanded dully.

Mei pulled one eyelid down and stuck her tongue out at him. "Whatcha gonna do about it?" She asked snidely.

Lev, meanwhile, leaned on Morisuke’s head in order to get at the only girl because _what did you say about my sister!?_

The archer looked wearily back over to the shifters to find they had their tails twined together and were mapping out each others mouths again.

Shin flopped backwards onto the floor next to his mother, who was still laughing so hard she was crying and sighed, throwing a forearm over his still invisible eyes.

“Why is everyone in this house so damn gay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all! So, did I shock anyone with that little ending? You all came to this fandom for this stuff!!! Well, that's my say for now, please drop a comment below, they help Shouyou and Tobio be adorable fluffy fourteen year olds in love, and leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks so much for reading!


	39. Welcome to the Real World.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is gonna be fun! This arc is something I feel like a lot of people have been excited about!   
> Please enjoy~

 

**_Nekoma Volleyball Bus._ **

 

“Isn’t it a little late in the season for a practice match?” Kenma asked mutedly, bags under his eyes thanks to how all of them had had to wake up at the crack of dawn to be at the school and driving to Miyagi.

Yaku shrugged. “Spring Tournaments just around the corner…”

He broke off the sentence to yawn, then picked up again.

“…and this team is supposed to be pretty hot new stuff…at least…that’s what the Coach said.”

“I’m excited! It’s another chance to play with everyone, isn’t that fun?” Lev asked giddily, leaning over from the seats behind them.

He, Morisuke, and Kenma were sitting in the back two rows of the bus. The Captain and a few others were all running up the opposite side, with everyone else filling in the spaces.

There was, however, a row open in front of Morisuke and Kenma, and no one seemed in a hurry to take the seat next to Lev either.

“I guess so.” Morisuke mumbled, glancing to the side to see Kenma peering into his sports bag again before hurriedly zipping it shut again, eyes returning to his PSP.

_He’s hiding something…_

The oldest of the three necromancers present worried to himself, but he let it go.

_It’s Kenma, he’s too lazy to get into much trouble._

They finally arrived at the school in Miyagi they were playing, and, as per usual, their ghost posse was all to happy to start prowling around the new area without wandering too far.

“Hey! This is my old high school! I played here!” Suga exclaimed abruptly all of the sudden.

Morisuke raised an eyebrow at this, that was interesting.

_Maybe I could find what he needs..? Nah, we tried that in the possessions already. Besides, he said he’d rather stay._

Suga was, now, happily telling stories about the area around the volleyball gym, a wide grin on his face.

“I’ll give everyone a tour! We’ll be out of the way for the match, we’ll get back before you guys leave!”

“So, Suga-chan, did you have any crushes while you went here?”

“Oh, no no no…well…maybe one…”

“TELL TELL TELL!” 

“Leave him alone, Assi-kawa!”

“RUDE!”

Kuroo floated along with them, wearing a wide grin at the antics just waiting to happen, and Akaashi watched them wearily for a moment before wilting and giving chase.

“Poor Keiji.” Morisuke laughed softly to Kenma.

The blonde, who was holding his bag securely, blew at his bangs.

“He’ll survive. He’s already dead, after all.”

Lev snorted. “That’s mean, Kenma-san!”

With this, they caught up to the rest of the team, who was already greeting Karasuno, the team they’d come to play that day.

When they rounded the corner, they saw the last thing they expected to see.

Familiar faces.

Noya was wearing the libero uniform, and Tanaka was by his side with the number 5 proudly displayed, both of appeared to be sympathizing with Yamamoto over the lack of beautiful managers on both of their teams. It seemed the two necromancers were pouting with the mohawk sporting boy that neither Karasuno nor Nekoma had any cute female students managing their teams.

The ace of Nekoma (no matter what Lev says) then glanced over his shoulder at the approaching trio.

“Ah, and here’s our libero, setter, and the newbie on the end.”

Lev was too shocked to even retort.

For a moment they just stared at each other, trying to figure out how to tackle the situation, before Yaku raised an eyebrow.

“Well…didn’t expect to see you two here.” 

Noya threw his arms up. 

“YOU GUYS!” He screeched, causing a minor commotion as he charged up to exchange some rapid fire high fives with Lev.

"Noya-san!" Lev cried right back, grinning ear to ear.

“You guys know each other?” Yamamoto asked, looking surprised as Morisuke and Tanaka gave each other a fist bump.

“Oh yeah, our parents all used to do this weekend meet up thing for volleyball kids way back when, and we kept in touch. I introduced them to Lev when we met up just a few weeks ago, but I never asked them what team they played for. Well, this ought to be interesting!” Yaku easily fabricated them a backstory for why they were friendly.

Tanaka grinned, probably happier about the new alibi than anything else. “Hell yeah! All I knew was you three were somewhere in Japan, now I guess I know where to find ya!”

“WE HAVE TO HAVE A LIBERO-OFF!” Noya shouted, skidding up to Yaku.

“I’m not sure what that is, but I’m sure I’ll beat you.” Morisuke shot back, placing a hand on his hip.

“Then how about we take all that friendly rivalry and start the match already!?” Hollered Karasuno’s Coach, a man who, in Morisuke’s personal opinion, looked a little to delinquent to be a role model, but who was he to judge?

 

**_After the Match._ **

 

The teams had broken up to explore the school and develop 'inter-team connections' or whatever for a strict three hour period, and most of the members had taken off to get meat buns at the Karasuno Coaches family store. However, thankfully, this had finally given the necromancer players, this time five strong, some time to themselves.

The second everyone was safely out of the gym, Tanaka slammed the doors and whirled around. “You guys play volleyball!? Why didn’t you say so!?”

Morisuke lowered his water bottle, still wiping sweat from his brow.

“Because you never asked. Damn, didn’t think this stupid late match was gonna be so exciting.” He muttered.

Noya popped up from the bench next to him.

“It’s not fair! You’re a better necromancer, and you’re a super good libero too!” He stamped his foot like a fitful child.

Yaku put his hands up. “I dunno about necromancy, but we wiped the floor with you guys, so there’s that.”

“LIES! WE WON THE SIXTH SET!”

“And Kenma had to sit that one out, and we played our back up setter. You know, because he’d worked hard while we won the previous _five_.”

Lev grinned. “I passed Noya-san! I passed Noya-san!” He taunted.

The much shorter boy stalked up to him.

“Your arm shouldn’t bend that way!” He roared furiously.

“Uh…guys…?” Kenma was pawing around in his gym bag.

“Well, I spiked one past Morisuke-san, so I guess we’re even!” Tanaka backed Noya up.

“Guy?” Kenma repeated, now looking over his shoulder with a panicked expression.

“Well, considering I nailed way more digs and we actually _won_ , I’d still say we come out on top, definitely not even.” Morisuke said this matter-of-factly, putting a hand on his hip as he stood up.

“Guys!” Kenma waved his arms to get some attention.

All four of them turned to look at him.

“What?” They all demanded in unison.

After a few moments worth of explanation, Morisuke was clutching at his head in anguish.

“What do you _mean_ Lukas-san gave you a dragon egg!?” He cried out in disbelief.

Kenma lowered his eyes. “Titania had a clutch unexpectedly a few months after she got out of her pen and…well, he sold most of them, but he kept one, and gave it to me last time we went to the Underground.”

“Why didn’t you tell us? That’s awesome!” Noya looked ecstatic.

“Except…it hatched during the game and now it’s gone?” Lev questioned, peering into the bag, which now contained nothing but two halves of an egg shell and some shards, along with the greenish puss that had filled the thing.

“Ew…you’re gonna have to dry clean your sweats.” Tanaka wrinkled his nose.

“Not the point! There is a loose baby Scandinavian Angel dragon running around your school! How are you not concerned about that!?” Mori really seemed to be the only one other than Kenma who was rightfully panicking.

Tanaka stiffened. “Wait, yeah! You’re right! That’s bad! Quick, we gotta find it!” 

“Yeah, c’mon! Maybe it left a trail of the puss stuff outside!” Noya pointed to the door.

So, they all dragged on their jackets and charged out the door, abandoning their bags just outside.

“There’s little footprints!” Lev pointed out, gesturing to the ground.

Sure enough, there were cat paw sized lizard like prints, wet on the dry cement outside the building.

They followed them into the building, and up a flight of stairs, but by the top of the staircase, the trail had vanished.

“It’s feet dried off, now what do we do?” Kenma asked miserably.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find it, I promise.” Morisuke insisted.

“If I were a baby Scandinavian Angel dragon in a high school…where would I go…?” Lev asked himself and the others present, scratching his chin.

That was when a less than manly shriek echoed down the hallway.

The group of seers bolting up the hall, sneakers squeaking on the tile as they rushed around the corner to see a blue and white scaly little creature stuck in someones hair.

“Catch it!” Noya shouted, flinging himself at the person and tackling them to the ground in his attempt at nabbing the dragon.

It was about the size of a small house cat, but it’s leathery wings made it look a bit beefier. 

It slipped right through Noya’s fingers, freeing it’s claws from the dark brown hair it was once trapped it. The sound of it skittering up the hall was all they had left as it escaped once more.

“No!” Yuu shouted, flopping down in exasperation.

Right onto Asahi’s chest.

The third year groaned, sitting up, his hair having been ripping free of it’s usual bun.

“Why did I just get a dragon to the face?” He asked groggily before his eyes focused on who was sitting on him.

“Wait…Yuu!?” 

Noya scrambled off him, turning bright red.  “O-Oh my god, Asahi-san? You go here!?”

“ _You_ go here!?”

“As fun as running into all our magical friends is there is a dragon on the loose that normal people can’t see!” Morisuke shouted, throwing his arms up.

“Wait, where did you get a dragon!?” Asahi demanded as Noya dragged him to his feet. 

Kenma scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“Yeah…uh…” 

“Let’s just get going!” Lev insisted, dodging around the two of them and rushing up the hallway.

“Hold on, hold on!” Asahi threw his arms out as everyone else thundered after the towering middle blocker.

After a few seconds he groaned and dropping his arms limply to his sides before cupping his hands around his mouth.

“Guys, hey! Wait for me!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The friends of circumstance are together in the real world at last! I'm so excited! It's gonna be a great time! Please drop a comment down below, they'll help them find the little dragon, and leave kudos if you've never been here before! Thanks so much for reading!


	40. Quiz!

**_Hey! Guess who decided she’s doing this again? Yup! So, here’s the deal, I was literally researching LIKE CRAZY trying to find a meaningful name for Kenma’s dragon but like…at first I wanted to name it after an anime character? Then I wanted to do this thing where I hinted at things to come with the name? But everything was either really stupid sounding or too obvious._ **

**_You know what the solution to that is?_ **

**_QUIZ!_ **

**_I’ve been wanting to do this anyway, and I figured this is the perfect reward for it! So yay! Alright-y, so I’m gonna drop some questions down below, if you feel like it, go ahead and answer them without looking back at the story, then leave your name for the dragon! The highest score’s name will be used! So, without further ado, please enjoy the questions~_ **

1) What was Ikumi doing when Morisuke arrived home in the first chapter?

 

2) Who first pointed out Lev to Morisuke?

 

3) How long has Tooru been dead?

 

4) What was Morisuke looking for in the storm?

 

5) What was Shouyou’s reason for running away?

 

6) Who are the first ‘Friends of Circumstance’ that are introduced into the story?

 

7) What is Hitoka’s favorite thing to summon for her performances?

 

8) Where is Kiyoko and Hitoka’s first kiss?

 

9) What is the name of the event that causes the dark creatures and ghosts of the world to become more active?

 

10) What level of the house does Morisuke live on?

 

11) Where is the Underground? 

 

12) What is the first name of Morisuke, Shinnosuke, and Mei’s Father? 

 

13) Why was Lev late to his first solo practice with Morisuke?

 

14) How did Keiji die?

 

15) Who uses the ‘Reveal’ spell on the ring?

 

16) Which ‘Friend of Circumstance’ is confirmed to be from a pureblood family?

 

17) What is the name of the man who murdered Tooru?

 

18) What was the gift Ikumi received from her children’s Father?

 

19) What is the name of the sweets shop in the Underground?

 

20) Why is Morisuke afraid of storms?

 

21) What are the necromancers weapons? (One point for each weapon and wielder you can name!)

**_Oh! And I also wanted to pop in and confirm something I was really happy and bunch of you picked up on, and that's the fact that Shin is and has always been planned to be asexual, which is why he's awkward giving advice to Morisuke, yet still trying his best to be supportive, and while he not opposed to romance, he'd certainly not in any rush, so at this point while he's not aromantic, he's not exactly all that into the idea either. I may or may not have him form a relationship with *SPOILERS* but I'm not totally sure yet. Either way, I wanted to say this because I was really happy that a good few people actually picked up on it when I dropped that really heavy hint at the end of chapter 38 so thank you!_  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for taking the quiz! I'll post the correct answers in a few days after I've given enough time for everyone to take it and then I'll be rolling with the next chapter! Thanks again!!!


	41. Answers and Results!

_**Sorry I took so long! I've been real busy, we've had tons of company, some family business, school hasn't been easy, and neither has been my pursuit of sports. I'm almost glad the quiz was the last chapter up for a little while, it gave plenty of time for people to come through and give responses! Even if you missed the original, please if go fill it out if you like before looking at the answers here! Thanks so much! Without further ado, here are the correct answers!** _

_******* _

1.) What was Ikumi doing when Morisuke arrived home in the first chapter?

 

**_Destroying a gremlin infestation with her badass axe!_ **

 

2) Who first pointed out Lev to Morisuke?

 

**_Kenma did!_ **

 

3) How long has Tooru been dead?

 

**_47 long years without his Iwa-chan, poor guy!_ **

 

4) What was Morisuke looking for in the storm?

 

**_A teddy bear for a little girl he was trying to help move on!_ **

 

5) What was Shouyou’s reason for running away?

 

**_Kageyama said some really hurtful things, particularly jabbing at his height and his lack of physical strength, and he got so fed up with the guys attitude her left!_ **

 

6) Who are the first ‘Friends of Circumstance’ that are introduced into the story?

 

**_Tsukki and Yamaguchi on the back of a dragon!_ **

 

7) What is Hitoka’s favorite thing to summon for her performances?

 

**_Golden rings that spin and float in the air!_ **

 

8) Where is Kiyoko and Hitoka’s first kiss?

 

**_Atop the summoning platform!_ **

 

9) What is the name of the event that causes the dark creatures and ghosts of the world to become more active?

 

**_Blood Moon, spooky right?_ **

 

10) What level of the house does Morisuke live on?

 

**_The third floor._ **

 

11) Where is the Underground? 

 

**_No particular time, in no particular place, for no particular reason._ **

 

12) What is the first name of Morisuke, Shinnosuke, and Mei’s Father? 

 

**_His name is Norio._ **

 

13) Why was Lev late to his first solo practice with Morisuke?

 

**_He was chasing around Kageyama (who was still in cat form at the time) which is why the shifter held such a grudge against him._ **

 

14) How did Keiji die?

 

**_He passed away due to brain cancer in the 1950’s, because the medicine just wasn’t advanced enough to save him._ **

 

15) Who uses the ‘Reveal’ spell on the ring?

 

**_Our friendly neighborhood demon Tendou did while delivering tea to a bedridden Morisuke._ **

 

16) Which ‘Friend of Circumstance’ is confirmed to be from a pureblood family?

 

**_Hitoka is, the Yachi’s are brought up as one of the few pureblood families who aren’t stuck up and full of themselves._ **

17) What is the name of the man who murdered Tooru?

 

**_Kojiro Yamada._ **

 

18) What was the gift Ikumi received from her children’s Father?

 

**_A novel, in which he claimed the main character reminded him of her._ **

 

19) What is the name of the sweets shop in the Underground?

 

**_It’s named Twisted Treats! Your one stop shop for deadly delicious cupcakes, ice cream, candy, and more!_ **

 

20) Why is Mori scared of thunder? 

 

**_Because he thought the sky would break and the angels would be angry and punish the necromancers for it. The reasoning doesn’t really make a lot of sense now that he’s older, but the fear of the loud sounds still remains._ **

 

20) What are the necromancers weapons? (One point for each weapon and wielder you can name!)

 

**_Ikumi - Battle Axe_ **

**_Shinnosuke - Bow and Arrow_ **

**_Mei - Gnarled Staff_ **

**_Morisuke - Assorted Knives_ **

**_Kenma - Teardrop Spear_ **

**_Tsukishima - Haladie_ **

**_Asahi - Hooked Knife_ **

**_Noya - Knife/Dagger_ **

**_Hitoka - Ring Topped Staff_ **

**_Kiyoko - Sword (Claymore double handed attributed to be lighter, but I haven’t gotten into that yet)_ **

**_Lev - Rapier_ **

**_Emil - Shortened ring topped Staff_ **

**_Lukas - Broad Sword_ **

**_***_ **

**_And our final quiz winner with a total of 26 points is mochivaytion! Thanks so much again to everyone who participated and I'll have the next chapter with our newly named dragon up very very very soon!_ **


	42. Ashes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The finale of our Friends of Circumstance crashing into each other!  
> Please enjoy~

The group of seer’s, now six strong from Noya tackling Asahi in the hallway, were bent double panting out behind the school.

“This is so stupid! How in the hell are we supposed to find a dragon the size of a house cat!? We’re screwed!” Noya shouted, throwing his arms up.

Yaku clapped a hand over his mouth.

“Don’t just be screaming that to the high heavens, do you want people to think we’re crazy!?”

Tanaka shrugged. “I mean everyone already thinks we’re crazy, so who cares?”

Asahi wilted. “Y’know guys I’ve done a really good job of staying in the background and I really don’t need you ruining this for me, I’m almost out of here.” 

Morisuke snickered. “Oh, I could tell you some stories. _Lev._ ” 

“I ACCIDENTALLY SUMMONED MY RAPIER BEHIND THE GYM _ONE TIME_!”

“Can we please focus!?” Kenma wailed.

His eyes were heavy with stress and he was obviously extremely upset about his dragon having gone missing.

Lev put a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s ok, Kenma-san, we’ll find it! We’ve just gotta put our heads together and…” 

Something caught his eye just then, his gaze raised and he furrowed his brow.

“Is that…wait is that the girls?” He asked, pointing.

Noya glanced over his shoulder at the track and field area behind them. “Yeah, it’s the girls track team, they probably just finished. Aren’t we supposed to be focused on dragon finding right now?”

Lev shook his head. “No, no, no, like, it’s _the_ girls. _”_

He insisted, pointing more vigorously. 

Everyone begrudgingly turned to look at the two that Lev was pointing at, sports bags over their shoulders.

Noya’s mouth dropped open.

“Wait…Yachi-chan and Kiyoko-san have been going to my school and I never saw them?”

“Well, they are in different years than you.” Asahi said appraisingly.

“You knew!?” Tanaka rounded on him.

The long haired third year put his hands up.

“I knew Yachi-chan and Kiyoko went here! Not you two!”

Yaku, meanwhile, shot off the gain their attention.

The two girls were holding hands, Yachi seemed to be chattering on about the events of practice today, and Kiyoko had a serene smile on her face.

You know, until a five foot five necromancer in a volleyball uniform skidded to a halt in front of them.

“Have you guys seen a dragon anywhere around here?” He demanded quickly.

Yachi shrieked and nearly fell backwards, but Kiyoko managed to pull her back up by her hand, which, as previously mentioned, she’d been holding.

“Morisuke, what are you doing here?” She hissed, eyes wide behind her glasses.

Yaku raked a hand through his hair.

“I’m on the volleyball team at my school with Lev and Kenma, and we had a practice match against your team. Tanaka and Noya go here, and we mowed down Asahi in the hallway. Apparently Lukas-san gave Kenma a dragon egg and it hatched during the match, slithered out of his bag, and took off!”

Yachi gasped. “So that’s what he was hiding in his cloak last Saturday!”

The others came over now, and Kiyoko pushed her glasses up as she spoke.

“Well, we’ll just have to go over the real world hellos after we find Kenma’s dragon, I suppose. What do they it look like?”

Kenma put his hands out to about how big he thought the dragon was. 

“This big or so, the same colors as Lukas-san’s dragon, a Scandinavian Angel.”

Kiyoko hummed, pursing her lips. 

Yachi put her hand up. “Should we check the park? Maybe it’ll try to get away from all the concrete and chaos?”

Morisuke checked his phone clock.

“Whatever we decide to do we’ve gotta hurry it up, our teams gonna be leaving in less than an hour!”

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” 

So here we had it, five friends of circumstance racing down the sidewalk of a real life street. No billowing cloaks or clopping hunting boots. No dark make up on the young ladies faces, no flashy belt buckles or slacks on the boys, none of that. Volleyball uniforms, track suits, and a single school uniform sweater covered their backs, and sneakered feet squeaked and skidded across the asphalt when they took a corner turn. 

They could wield powers beyond the ignorance of the normal people to comprehend, but here they were, barging through the gates of a park just before dusk to find the most unexpected sight yet.

“Uh…it seems…comfy? What do we do with it?” 

A sigh.

“I dunno, just don’t move, I’ll call Nii-san and see if he can come by…”

Whatever Tsukishima had been planning on saying after this would never be known, because he’d just now caught the eye of the panting quintet of necromancers standing in the gateway of the park where he and his best friend came everyday after school. 

Yamaguchi’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly for a few moments. Perhaps he might have stood up, if not for the fact that a baby dragon was currently curled in his lap looking for all the world like a contented cat, small puffs of smoke escaping it’s nostrils from time to time. 

“So…this is your fault, I’m assuming?” Kei asked, clearly trying to ignore the event he’d never expected coming to pass. 

Namely, these people he’d so often brushed off, claiming their friendship was nothing to be concerned over, staying despite obvious feelings to the contrary that he really didn’t care either way about what went on during their time together, standing right here in front of him.

In normal clothes.

No weapons drawn.

No backpacks of gold or baskets of spell scrolls. 

Just themselves, as they were the majority of their time. 

“Is it ok!?” Kenma demanded, rushing up to him, the rest of the group clamoring right behind.

The baby dragon lifted it’s head with a grumpy look on it’s face before making a sort of squeaky roaring sound.

Yamaguchi giggled softly. “I think he wants everyone to stop shouting.”

Kenma collapsed onto the bench next to him.

“I thought he was gone forever.” He groaned. 

Tadashi shrugged. “Tsukki and I come here pretty much every day after school, and she just came wandering in here. We were both so surprised, I just sort of whistled to her and she came right over and jumped in my lap. Then he fell asleep. I think she’d tired after all this excitement.”

Kenma slouched. “I’m just glad he wound up with you.”

After a few moments the bottle blonde awkwardly tried to scoop the dragon from his friends lap, successfully lifting it into his arms. It draped it’s forearms over his shoulder and snuggled it’s head down into his neck. It’s wings fluttered for a moment, smacking Kenma in the face before folding like delicate petals back against it’s shoulder blades, thin leathery folds settling down comfortably. It’s long whip like tail, adorned all along the top with little white spikes yet to have hardened into the weaponized horns Titania had on hers, wrapped itself snuggly around Kenma’s upper arm.

The setter pulled his head awkwardly away from the sharp tipped little horns just barely stuck out from it’s head. Over the years they would grow out and begin to spiral into the graceful curled horns of it’s mother.

“So…we found him, that’s good at least, right?” Yaku asked tiredly.

“Found a lot more than just a dragon.” Tsukishima muttered, crossing his arms.

Tanaka tried to put up a suave face.

“Kiyoko-san, Yachi-chan, now that we know we all go to the same school, maybe we should go hunting together sometime?”

Kiyoko rolled her eyes with a fond smile all the same.

“Maybe.” She replied vaguely.

Noya grinned. “Yeah! Maybe I can got tutoring from you Asahi-san!”

“What makes you think I’m smart?” Asahi got a face that was a mix between fear or embarrassment.

“Not in school! In spell casting! You know I suck at the super cool summoning and elemental stuff you do! All I can ever manage is lightning!”

The older wilted. “I can’t decide if I should be flattered you think my casting is cool or insulted you agreed that I’m stupid.”

“I never said you were stupid!”

As the conversations roared on, topics that had never once been touched upon before suddenly coming to light, Yamaguchi glanced awkwardly over at Kenma, who was still sitting rather close to him.

“You know…from this angle, I think he’s actually a she.” Tadashi commented, pointing at the decorations on the dragons back.

Kenma lowered his lantern like gaze to study the markings.

“Oh…yeah you’re right, they’re all rounded instead of spiked…she’s a she then. At least, most likely. I’ll ask Lukas-san to check for sure next time we go under.”

Yamaguchi gently patted the dragon on the back before speaking.

“That’s a shame, I was thinking Ash would be a good name, but that’s more of a guys sort of name, isn’t it?”

Kenma shrugged, an impressive feat with a sleeping dragon on one shoulder. “I’m sure there are girls with that name.” He pointed out.

Yamaguchi drummed his fingers against the bench before he had another thought.

“Isn’t Ashley a popular name? Or would that be too much of a pun?” He picked at a splinter sticking from the bench, anything to avoid meeting Kenma's gaze.

Kenma wrinkled his nose. “But isn’t that really common in the west? I wanna name her something unique.”

Tadashi already had his phone out, determination lighting up his face. “Let’s see then…Ashley is originally derived from Anglo-Saxon meanings…”

Kenma smiled softly. “Aren’t you putting a little too much effort into this?”

The brunette’s lips twitched into a grin in reply.

“Not at all! Dragons almost as long as humans do, sometimes longer! She’s gotta have a great name, it’ll be with her for the next hundred years!”

He then straightened up, easily ignoring the bickering that had broken out between Yaku and Tsukishima, with Lev trying and failing to mediate.

“So it says here that in Old English the name 'Ashley' or 'Ashleigh' meant ‘ash tree meadow?’…I mean it does say that it can also mean stuff like ‘woods, clearing, and enclosure’ Huh…oh! Apparently a common variation of it is Ashelle.”

“Ashelle?” Kenma repeated dubiously.

Yamaguchi looked to him doubtfully. “I mean…you don’t have to name her anything to do with it…I just thought it sounded kinda cool…she left ash all in my lap so…”

He brushed at his school uniform slacks, which, sure enough, sent black flakes of ash spiraling into the air and drifting towards the ground. 

The bottle blonde seemed to consider it for a moment before mumbling.

“I guess Ashelle is a good a name as any other one…I probably would have named her after some game character…”

Yamaguchi chuckled, trying his best to conceal the internal celebration going on at having found a name Kenma seemed to like. “You do play a lot on your PSP on the way under!” 

Kenma nodded. “It’s just something to do I guess.”

Both of them jumped when Ashelle sneezed and a large plume of fire erupted out behind Kenma, followed by the baby dragon shaking it’s snake like head from the sudden eruption, blinking it's bleary little blue eyes. It then coughed a few times, producing several more, larger rings of smoke, before settling down again.

Yaku opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally speaking.

“Uh…how the hell are we gonna get that thing home? What if it sets the bus on fire?”

“Not it! Her!” Tadashi corrected firmly.

“And she has a name.” Kenma insisted, patting the dragon in his arms on the back as if to help her settle down.

“You two sound like protective parents…is that it? Is this dragon your first child? Who’s last name is she taking?” Tsukishima teased, knowing all to well Tadashi’s view on this matter.

“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi shouted, fisting and unfitting his hands anxiously as he felt heat rise to his cheeks.

Yaku sighed and put a hand to his head.

“Either way, whatever she is, and whoever her parents are, we’re gonna be ditched, dragon and all, in Miyagi if we don’t get back to the volleyball gym soon.”

“Oh, right! We’ve only got like ten minutes!” Lev exclaimed.

As hasty goodbyes were exchanged, promises to expand on this chance meeting more on the next trip under in a few weeks time, Kenma glanced over to Tadashi, who still had his phone out.

“Let me see that.” He said abruptly, snatching it away. His one free hand, the other cradling his ‘daughter’, tapped rapidly at the screen, the speed of his typing, even one handed, was something to marvel at.

“Kenma, c’mon, let’s go! We’ll see’em all in a few weeks!” Morisuke urged.

“Right.” The second year handed Tadashi back his phone and rushed out of the park after his teammates without even saying goodbye.

The Karasuno students, having stayed behind, continued acquainting themselves with the real life versions of these so called ‘untrue’ friends from so many years of dragon rides and magic cities.

Tsukishima glanced over to Tadashi from where he was standing.

“We should bail before anything else exciting happens.” He suggested, pointing to the gate.

Noya stomped his foot. “Why do you always act like we’re strangers! We're friends!"

"You look like you could be a grade school student, I can't be seen with someone like that." Kei said scathing, putting a hand to his chest as if offended.

"I AM YOUR ELDER!"

"And you're also my shorter."

"GET DOWN HERE TSUKKI!" 

He pounced onto the blondes back and starting messing with his hair.

“Get it off! Get it off!” Kei shouted, bending over from the tiny second year atop him with a furious expression.

Asahi clawed Nishinoya off, Kiyoko and Yachi watching on with equally amused expressions, and Tsukishima harshly straightened his shirt, glaring at the libero all the while.

At long last, they went their separate ways, Noya vowing to harass all of them at school, Kiyoko assuring them all that nothing was necessary, but perhaps they should all get meat buns after school sometime, and Tsukishima just wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.

All these revelations, and Yamaguchi had forgotten entirely about Kenma even touching his phone.

That is, until he was lying in bed around four hours later and his phone reverberated with an incoming text message.

 

**_From: Kenma_ **

 

_Just got home. Somehow Ashelle didn’t sneeze once the entire ride. We managed to hide her smoke puffs by hiding her in Lev’s jacket and having him sit in the back._

 

Tadashi didn’t actually process how weird this was, only snickered at the thought of Lev trying to conceal a squirming baby dragon within his Nekoma jacket. Then it hit, as it always would, crashing into his brain like a freight train.

Kenma.

The same one with the beautiful spear and the shy attitude. The same one he secretly hoped would wind up clinging to him every time they shot through the portal on Guila’s back.

He had his phone number.

_Oh my god._

He was going to buy Ashelle the finest dragon treats gold could buy the next time he went under.

That little dragon deserved a reward for getting him his crushes phone number.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! I hope you enjoyed it, and thanks to mochivaytion for Ashelle's adorable name! I also now know more about Anglo-Saxon prefixes and suffixes, as well as Old English surnames than I ever expected I'd need too XD Anyway! Please drop a comment down below, they help Ashelle stop flame sneezing, and please leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks for reading!


	43. Heroine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to try and bring an element of just HOW their magic works into this so I did a ton of research and actually found some really cool stuff! It's not super fleshed out and probably won't be referenced a TON of times but it was a fun idea to write! Sorry I've been gone awhile, it's the usual, life loves getting in the way of good fun ;-; Anyway, towards the end we get back into some deep stuff!!! Please enjoy~

**_Yaku’s House_ **

 

“So the one you sketch to summon your weapon is earth invoking, so you start from the bottom left point going up to the top point, no circle. This is really important, if you start from any other point you’ll end up with an incomplete pentagram. Or just set yourself on fire. Or cause a flood. Or a tornado. Either way, it’s really important to remember that.” Morisuke’s right hand easily sketched this so called ‘earth invoking’ pentagram out, and low and behold, out fell his knife. 

Lev watched him for a moment with his brow furrowed.  
“So it matters which corner you start? I always just did it from bottom left because that’s how you showed me to do it, I didn’t think it really made any difference so long as the star is formed.

Yaku plopped back down cross legged on the floor. They were in the library of the house, which was really just one of the spare bedrooms that had been chock full of bookcases, tables, and important documents. 

They were surrounded with books about spell casting, things Morisuke hadn’t dusted off for years, but he’d taken them up now with intent on teaching his boyfriend the intricacies he’d just grown up knowing.

Lev furrowed his brow down at his notebook, which was filled with different interpretations of what looked like the exact same symbol to him.

Morisuke, however, insisted they were entirely different, and he trusted Morisuke, so he just kept on trying to pay attention. 

“But…I don’t understand, so the star Kenma-san used to summon water was different than the star he uses to draw out his spear?” 

Morisuke put a finger up. “First of all, not star, pentagram. There’s a difference. Secondly, let’s get something else perfectly clear, it’s not a symbol of Satan unless you turn it upside down and add specific symbols I’m not about to teach you. Which under no circumstances should you ever do, don’t draw it with the spirit point down unless you’re really really _really_ sure of what you’re doing.”

Lev looked down at the pages of the notebook again. Sure enough, of the six pentagrams Morisuke had drawn out, not a single one had the top pointed down.

“What could happen?” He asked.

The auburn haired boy hesitated. “Well…I mean, it’s magic, so it does what it wants unless you’ve got a good hold over it. Like how you almost blew up that stall back in the Underground.”

Lev wilted. “I said I was sorry!”

The third year ignored him. “Do you remember what each of the points means?”

Lev nodded. “Yeah, you hammered that into my skull already.” He seemed exasperated at this. Studying magic had been a lot harder than just magic words. As a matter of fact, magic words were rarely even used to invoke any sort of spell. It was all materials, enchantments, drawing and gestures. 

"The top is spirit, top left is air, bottom left is earth, bottom right is fire, and top right is water.” He pointed to each as he said this.

“Yeah, so what do you think would happen if, instead of the spirit coming from the pretty place, it came from the bad place?”

Lev blinked. “Oh…so when you have the point up, the spirit in the spell comes from Heaven?”

Morisuke shrugged. “More or less.”

“And if the sta…”

The older shot him a sideways glare.

“…sorry, pentagram, is pointed down, then the spirit comes from…Hell?”

Morisuke shrugged double time. “Like I said, more or less. Sometimes it has no affect on the spell, sometimes it summons a demon. Do you want to summon another Satori?”

Lev shuddered. “No way.”

“OK YOU KNOW WHAT I JUST CAME UP HERE TO BRING YOU TWO TEA AND COOKIES AND I WALK IN ON THIS ABUSE!?”

The door slammed open, revealing Satori standing there with a tray of cookies, a teapot, and three cups.

Lev laughed while Morisuke smothered his own snickers.

“Sorry, Tendou-san, but I think one of you is enough.” 

Satori scoffed. “And before we go all ‘Hail Satan’, you two should probably stop messing around drawing that stuff when Lev literally lit up a whole rapier on accident without even trying. What if he starts a thunderstorm?”

Morisuke slapped the notebook shut. “WE’RE DONE!” He exclaimed with an uncomfortable crack to his voice.

Lev laughed again. “Is that actually possible?”

Tendou winked. “Draw the symbol for chaos between water and spirit, spirit facing upwards, channel turmoil, and let loose.”

Lev was actually reaching for a pen to try it and Morisuke all but smothered him, jumping on top of him.

“DON’T YOU DARE!” He yelled.

Lev laughed, eyes lit up as he put his arms around Mori to try and wrestle the much smaller boy off him.

“You make no sense! You live with demons and ghosts, but you’re afraid of thunder?”

Morisuke sat back just in front of Lev and crossed his arms with a pouty expression.

“I have a right to hate it.” He muttered.

“You thought the sky would break when you were a kid, and that angels would descend from heaven and punish necromancers for it. That’s honestly one of the wildest things to have ever come out of your little noggin.”

Tendou set the tray of cookies with the teapot down on the table.

“Wait, is that really the reason?” Lev looked to Morisuke to confirmation.

“I KNEW THERE WERE PEOPLE LIVING UP THERE! I’D BE PISSED IF THE GROUND BROKE UNDER MY HOUSE WOULDN’T YOU!?” Morisuke roared, trying to defend his childhood fear.

His half Russian boyfriend cracked up. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard! Why would angels be angry with the necromancers for the sky breaking!?” 

Tendou rolled his eyes as he raised the mug of tea he’d just poured himself.

“My first question was ‘how could the sky break because of a thunderstorm?’ But sure, yeah, ask him about the angels being pissy. Makes sense.” 

Lev smirked. “Ok, but as a kid I could understand thinking the sky could break. I couldn’t understand how he’d think that angels would be mad at the necromancers for it!”

The third year threw his arms up. “I didn’t like loud noises to begin with, ok!?”

“You’re yelling awful loudly right now.” Satori sniggered.

“SHUT UP!” 

“Sorry~”

The magic lesson was convened after this, and Lev packed in his notebook filled with sketches and drummed his way down the stairs.

“Guess we’ll head home, I’ve got some homework to wrap up before tomorrow.” He announced, mindlessly scooping up the texts he’d been borrowing from them. He had two he was reading currently, one mammoth of a book on the history of necromancy and the other a shorter tome about how to properly outfit a weapon. He didn’t think anything off it that a third hardcover book bound in aged leather had found it’s way onto the end table and into his bag.

“Sure, are you gonna come tomorrow as well? Maybe we can try to find some low level stuff in the forest for you to practice with your rapier, because lord knows we don’t need you swinging that thing at a naberius or something yet.” Morisuke asked this as he leaned on the banister, standing on the first step.

He still wasn’t taller than Lev, even with a leg up.

_I’d better not make a comment on that…_

Lev thought, just after opening his mouth to make such a comment.

See? 

The boy was learning. 

“Yeah, sounds good…”

He walked over to the cupboard sized door under the stairs and opened it up, cupping a hand over his mouth.

“SHOUYOU! TIME TO GO HOME!”

A few moments passed before an unhappy…

“Coming!”

…answered his call. 

Lev drew himself up, frowning.

“Should I let him stay here tonight?” He asked Mori in a whisper.

The auburn haired boy put his palms to the ceiling.

“Your choice, but I’d say you’d better not. Won’t be long before you sister starts getting suspicious about you bringing ‘Tora’ over here all the time for kitty play dates with our ‘cat’.”

The first year sighed. “True.”

A few moments later Shouyou came slouching up from the basement, wearing what looking suspiciously like Tobio’s blue hoodie and dragging his bare feet.

“Can’t I stay with Tobio and the others tonight?” Shouyou asked, bringing out his very best puppy eyes on Lev.

Granted, they were more like ‘kitty eyes’ but it wasn’t necessary to worry about something like that.

Lev shook his head. “You already spent the night here two days ago, Alisa will get worried if I keep leaving you over here.”

Shouyou groaned, rolling his head back.

“Fine…” He grumbled before headed for the door.

Morisuke propped his elbows up on the banister.

“See you two tomorrow.” He hummed.

Lev snagged a kiss, turning his boyfriend three shades of red, and then bolted.

“Why does he still get so angry every time you kiss him? I kiss Tobio all the time.” Shouyou asked as they started the walk home through the forest.

Lev shrugged, hiking his sports bag higher up onto his shoulder, for he’d come to the Yaku’s house straight after practice.

“It’s just a defense mechanism for him, I think…I’ll break through to him eventually.”

Shouyou hummed, hands in his pockets. 

They emerged from the forest and just before they switched from dirt to concrete Lev popped the collapsable cat carrier open.

“You know the drill.” He said.

Shouyou groaned, rolling his eyes. 

“You’d better not shake me around to much!” He insisted, pointing into Lev's face, before a sound like a whip crack echoed through the trees. No flash of light, no melting of the shifters form into that of another.

One second he was a boy.

The next he was a tiny orange kitten.

Shouyou ‘Tora’ the cat shook himself out, as if soaked with water, and the orange ebbed right out of his fur, replaced with shimmering white.

After Lev had helped the shifter settle into the cat carrier he continued on his way.

_Now that he’s getting breaks at Mori’s house, and time with me to stay in his naturally colored form, it’s not rough at all for him to keep his fur white while he’s at the apartment. I managed to convince Alisa that Mori’s cat Tobio had taken a liking to Tora the day I brought her over, and that’s why I take her, and sometimes leave her there for the night. So far it’s worked out pretty well._

He arrived at his apartment shortly thereafter and, once inside, he called in.

“I’m home!” 

No reply.

The first year frowned. “Guess she’s still at work…ok, that gives us a little time, Shouyou.” 

He unzipped the front of the cat carrier and the tiny kitten that Shouyou had become leapt out, zipping off into the apartment.

Lev shook his head after him as he collapsed the cat carrier back down and tucked it into the back of the coat closet. His shoes followed and he padded into the kitchen.

A few minutes saw him in his room with a can of soda as his only companion, repeatedly sketching his summoning pentagram over, and over, and over again. Side by side, each one almost exactly like the other.

After finishing four pages of ten on each side he groaned, dropping his forehead to the notebook.

“This is pointless…” He mumbled.

Mori, nor the rest of the Yaku’s or the ghosts, had any idea he was doing this. The texts he’d asked permission to borrow, obviously, but he was doing it for more than to just look interested.

He wanted to learn so badly. 

So far the only spell he knew other than the possession ritual and summoning his weapon was an annoyingly simple energy blast from the tip of his rapier, and he couldn’t even do that properly yet.

Yes, he understood it had taken the natural born necromancers their entire lives to be as good as they were, yes, he knew he wasn’t going to suddenly be a master of the magic that had been set loose in his system by a cursed ring, but that didn’t stop him from yearning for it. 

He dropped his pen to the glass top of the desk and listened to it rattle as it rolled a few inches to bump off his soda can.

Standing, he let the notebook fall shut and tucked it back into his backpack.

He started rummaging through the overstuffed bag, now carrying his school supplies, school textbooks, homework, and extra necromancy study material. He paused when he realized there was one book too many in his crowded backpack.

“What’s…this?” 

He pulled the book out, vaguely remembering having accidentally grabbed one to many off the end table, and let his eyes scan over the worn over.

A girl with long flowing black hair wearing a traditional pink and green kimono with the skirt of the robe cut off, wielding a large sword with her back to the reader, facing the darkness that made up the rest of the cover. 

The title simply read ‘HEROINE’ in all capitals in dark red, which popped against the cover. It was beat up around the edges, it’s entire spine had been mended with care by patches of leather and strips of tape. It was peppered with sticky notes marking spots and several of the pages were bent doggy ear style. The pages were also sporting little tears and several dark splotches here and there that made it obvious this book had seen better days. 

_How did something like this end up in my backpack? Did I grab it from the end table? Doesn’t look like something Mori would read…I doubt it’s Shinnosuke-san’s but I don’t know much about his tastes in literature…maybe it’s Mei-san’s?_

Lev sat back into his chair again and turned to the first page.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! Please drop a comment below, they help Lev become halfway decent at magic faster, and please leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks for reading!


	44. Forever Yours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if anyone is actually at all interested in Morisuke's parents relationship in this story, but I really wanted to delve into it a bit. If it's not what you want to see, and you just want me to get back to Lev and Mori being fluffy boyfriends *WHICH WILL BE OCCURRING A METRIC SHIT TON EITHER WAY* just let me know in the comments!  
> Please enjoy~

_**Lev's Room.** _

The plot of 'Heroine' itself was fairly basic, really, it was no feat of literature. It was written well, cleanly, yet simply. Lev could have done with more description, and he still wasn’t even totally clear on the ‘heroine's’ appearance other than black hair and baggy clothes so far. 

However, it drew a neat parallel to which Lev could understand why it had been present in the Yaku household.

The novel was about a girl named Aika who could see monsters that no one else could, and how she struggled to balance being ‘normal’ with the responsibilities of vanquishing these monsters with magic. 

_Yeah…I was definitely see why it was in Mori’s house…_

Despite its simplistic design, the novel sucked Lev in. It started out explaining how Aika globe trotted to hunt down the most threatening monsters on the planet, and found that being a loner was far easier than the pain of forming relationships and then moving on, never to see those people again. The story really picked up with her arrival in a small mountain town in Japan, where she moved into a shabby apartment and began attending the local high school as a first year to avert suspicion. She was fifteen, and now, here’s where things got really interesting.

Not with the story, but with the book _itself_. 

In crammed, squarish letters on the bottom of the pages, in faded out blue pen, was written a note with an arrow pointing up and underlining the first time Aika’s age had been mentioned.

**_This is how old you were when we first met, right? I wish you’d started going to my school, I’d have been a good senpai and shown you the ropes!_ **

Next to this message was a winking little smily face as a show of good nature.

_Weird…_

Lev thought, but he pressed on regardless. 

The story followed along with Aika bumping into a handsome upperclassman, and instantly falling smitten without even realizing what such a thing as a ‘crush’ was.

Another note was here.

**_Strong cheekbones, slick black hair, tall, muscular, on the basketball team, student council member…man, I’d say you’re just like the heroine, but I’m not quite as good as the love interest, huh? Only box I check is being two years older...hey, at least I can bake, right?_ **

Another winking smily face. 

Lev was beginning to get a dark inkling he knew exactly whose writing this was, but didn’t dare take a guess at it just yet. 

If he were right…he might be the first person other than Ikumi herself to be seeing these pages in seventeen years.

The story was predictably enjoyable, at the very best, annoying basic at the worst, but being able to look out the window and see a unicorn munching on the blocks shrubbery changed his perspective a bit.

Most people would read this story through the eyes of an outsider, such as Ryouta, the love interest, or Kyousuke, the witty best friend there for comic relief.

Lev, however, was reading the story through Aika’s eyes. Seeing the monsters, not being naive to the fact that these things were only fiction.

They weren’t.

He _knew_ it.

In the back of his mind, he wondered if the author of this novel knew it too. Perhaps they were a necromancer? Perhaps their experiences with the sight were the inspiration for this story? 

Either way, the rest of the story was peppered with notes in cheery blue pen, often accompanied with smily faces, a little teary eyed face when Aika ran away from Ryouta's attempted confession, a tongue sticking out on pages of Kyousuke’s antics. There were also blank sticky notes that Lev was careful not to touch.

Half because he knew that marked specific parts and he didn't want to mess anything up, half because he wouldn't put it past Ikumi to put a curse on one of them.

Before he knew it, Lev had burned through the novel just shy of four hundred pages, if only reading just too see if there were another note from the mystery man with the blue pen on the next page. It was almost three am, but who cared at this point, all he wanted to know was how it ended.

Again, in a predictably charming fashion. Ryouta was caught up in an attack by one of the monsters, Aika fought back against it, with the help of a willing but monster-blind Kyousuke, and killed it at the cost of her own life. As Ryouta cradled her body in his arms, crying, she woke up again, some cryptic magic or another allowing her to reawaken.

Then, with another badly explained plot device, something about giving up his humanity to save Aika, Ryouta was able to see the monsters too.

The novel ended with them locked in a tender kiss, true love prevailing over the darkness of the world. 

Lev let the last page fall and arrived at the two blanks at the back of every novel, only to find one last message in blue.

**_I know it’s not a spectacular book, and I’m pretty sure you’re gonna burn it before you even reach this page, but when I read it, it really spoke to me. It made me feel a little closer to you, like I can understand a bit better what you see, and now what our little Mei and Shin see…and now even littler Morisuke too._ **

**_A third._ **

**_And all of them see the way you do._ **

**_I’m sorry. I’m still such a coward. Such a damn foolish coward for ever thinking I could make this work._ **

**_When I first met you in that silly black cloak in the streets, all beat up carrying around an axe that looked to heavy for you to even lift, I remember thinking that something must be off with you._ **

**_A fifteen year old girl from the big city who waited one to many stops on the train and wound up in my small town. One who was wild in to many ways…ways that, back then, even now, I can’t get enough of._ **

**_Really, though, after these years, I think I’m the one who is in the wrong._ **

**_I’m sorry, I am, I really, really am. So sorry I can't bear to say it to your face, for fear it'll never make it past my lips. I love you, I love the kids, I love our life, but I just can’t continue living, pretending to see things that aren’t there for me._ **

**_You can see them. I believe you can see them. I have no doubt they are real. But I can’t, and that’s just too hard for me to take. I can’t support you, or our children, in what they’ll want to pursue. I’ll hold you back, I’ve already seen the way the other necromancers you know in the real world look at me, and the kids. I know it’s bringing you down, making it harder for you to succeed, and eventually, it will be the same for them as well._ **

**_I won’t let myself be a burden to you, I won’t force you to guide a blind man for the rest of your life. I won’t force our children to be ridiculed because of my blindness._ **

**_I left a sealed envelope in the bottom drawer of my study desk, it’ll give you directions to access my savings. I already paid off the house. I’ll make sure you have enough to take care of yourself and the kids, but I can’t let this go on any longer_ **

**_You’re not crazy, you’re just different. Too different. So different that my being ordinary is dragging you and our beautiful children down. My only regret is that I didn’t realize this before I fell so deeply in love with you. Then maybe, this wouldn’t have hurt so bad._ **

 

**_Forever yours,_ **

**_Shitsuren Norio._ **

 

Finally, there was a photo booth strip taped to the back cover. Four images of a young, longer haired, brighter faced Yaku Ikumi with a bunny pin in her bangs, her arms around a boy with long bangs of dirty blonde hair, a bridge of freckles across his nose, and amber speckled brown eyes that mirrored all three of the Yaku children to a tee. 

Especially Morisuke’s.

His face, the shape of his eyes, the curve of his nose, Lev could see it. 

This was his boyfriend’s father. 

A man who was, like Lev had once been, completely sanely.

The first picture they were sitting together, side by side, looking like they were trying not to laugh. The second they’d lost, and both had their heads thrown back in fits of giggles, whatever was so funny was lost to time, but just the image itself made Lev smile a bit. The third, Ikumi had thrown her arms around Norio’s neck, they were looking into each others eyes, smiles gargantuan, unable to contain how happy they were together.

If Lev hadn’t known what Norio’s final decision however many years after this photo was taken would be, he’d have sworn they were so deeply in love, young, stupid, and filled with adoration, that they'd never let themselves be separated.

Those eyes spoke volumes, and now Lev understood why Morisuke didn’t blame his father for leaving them.

He had _loved_ Ikumi, simply _adored_ her, Lev could see it all in those eyes. However, he just couldn’t spend a lifetime in the dark, unseeing, knowing he’d never be able to support his children with Ikumi in spell casting or weapons crafting. 

He was just a normal, average, everyday man who tried to make the best decision for his family.

In the end, it appeared that the best decision he could make was the leave them behind.

In the fourth image they were kissing, and before he could examine that one all to closely the silver haired boy let the book fall shut, the front cover dropping with a resounding clunk.

He had to get some sleep, then figure out how to sneak this book back into the Yaku’s house without anyone realizing he'd binge read it cover to cover. 

It made him wonder if Morisuke had ever seen these notes, if that was why he was so at peace with his fathers absence? Was it the same for Mei and Shin? Or had they merely grown up with their mother assuring them their Father had left out of love?

And of course, he’d never so much as breached the topic with Ikumi, he had no clue about her stance what would certainly be a touchy subject. 

He massaged his temples. 

Getting absorbed into the turbulence that had surrounded his boyfriends eventual conception was not something he’d been planning on doing tonight.

Green eyes flitted to the clock.

This morning.

3:56 AM to be exact.

_Damn…I really do need to get some sleep._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! So, as you can see, Mori's father's decision is a little more in the gray than you'd expect, huh? Please let me know if you think he made the right choice or not! I'm actually really curious to see what people think about this topic! Anywho, please drop a comment, they help Lev get the novel back into the house without being caught and then murdered by Ikumi for ever touching it, and please leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks so much for reading!


	45. Sweetness and Strength

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a while! I kinda wrote myself into a corner with that last chapter XD Everyone seemed to really like the idea of exploring Ikumi's past a bit, so that's what we'll be doing! It'll be mixed up a few other things I want to do before I bring this story to a close, so look forward to it!  
> Please enjoy~

 

**_The Next Day_ **

 

Lev crept off towards the Yaku household library, the novel ‘Heroine’ in hand. He planned on leaving it on the floor peeking out from under the bookcase, setting up that it had fallen and landed in that spot. 

Ikumi was a forgetful lady, and as much as he hated taking advantage of that. 

Currently, everyone save Ikumi was carrying on in the kitchen, which, as usual, was the hub of the house. Lev had said he was going to the bathroom. Since he more or less lived here at this point, probably spending more time under this saggy, unkempt roof than within his own apartment, he’d barely even been acknowledged before he vanished into the depths of the house. 

_Almost there…_

Morisuke had said Ikumi was still asleep, and Lev was praying he could sneak the book into the library and escape back to the kitchens before anyone was any wiser that he’d had it.

Naturally, though, he was the one and only Haiba Lev, so things could never work out too plan.

So, when he sidled into the door of the library, backing his way through the door, hugging the book to his chest.

Once he was inside he let out a massive sigh of relief and spun around, eager to get this novel out of his hands.

“Oh! Lev, honey, I didn’t realize you were here yet! Tell me have you seen an old book lying around? I believe I misplaced it yester…day…”

Ikumi turned to him from where she was carefully analyzing the spines of the tomes stored away in her families shelves. She was wearing a pair of worn gray yoga pants, a spaghetti strap red tank top and a black hoodie with a few cute patch flowers on it.

Her amber eyes were slightly distorted thanks to her reading glasses, hideous things with a thick red frames and little golden dots running down each arm.

That is, until she realized just what Lev was holding.

“I-I uh, Ikumi-san it was an accident I…”

She exhaled very slowly before putting her hand out.

He was quick to hand over the worn old thing, and watched as the auburn haired woman thumbed through the pages for a moment before sighing, more heavily than the time before.

Wearily, like she really wasn’t looking forward to what was coming next.

She pushed her glasses up to rest atop her head and looked Lev up and down with tired eyes.

“How much did you read?”

Lev gulped.

She put a hand to her head. “The whole thing then…it’s my fault in the end, I shouldn’t have left it lying about…I meant to put it back in my room but I got distracted.”

She turned and walked over to one of the two chairs set up to either side of a low coffee table in the corner of the room.

“Sit.”  
Lev scurried over to the open armchair and sat down, then immediately struggled with what to do with his hands.

Ikumi shook her head slowly. “I’m not angry with you.” She assured.

The silver haired boy clearly wasn’t sold on that statement.

She leaned back and crossed her legs at the knee, house slippered foot lifting off the ground.

“It’s really a miracle with how often I leave this stupid book lying around that no one has ever picked it up. My kids are just as easily distracted as I am, so they don’t really bother with this type of thing. Satori and Wakatoshi wouldn’t touch it out of respect to me, though I get the feeling they know why it’s so important to me, and the ghosts…well, most of them know what’s gone on between myself and Norio…all except for Keiji, at least, and he’s far to polite to even ask, much less pick up the book and read it himself.”

Lev winced. “I’m…I’m really sorry, Ikumi-san. Really I shouldn’t…I should have just…I mean when I realized I picked it up on accident I should have just left it in my bag and brought it back the next day.” 

Ikumi gave a dry laugh. “Instead you read it, huh? Oh well…”

The new necromancer studied her for a moment before concluding that, thankfully, she really didn’t seem mad. A little worried about how to proceed, and a little upset that she’d allowed this to happen, yes, but she didn’t seem to be directing any negative emotion whatsoever towards Lev.

As such, he took a shaky breath and figured now was a good a time as any.  
“So…how did you meet Shitsuren-san? I mean, Mori’s Dad…I mean…all of them’s Dad…I mean…your…” Just as fast as he’d worked up the courage, it was gone when Ikumi looked up with a flash of fury in her eyes.

That anger dissipated soon after, replaced again by weariness.

She smoothed her hand over the cover a few times, as if to calm herself, before she spoke.  
“I’m not angry.” She assured.

“Just…a little surprised…for so long this book as been my little secret. Miracle that is, with how often I leave it lying about. Those three…they don’t know, not really. I mean, I’ve always made sure they knew their Father loved them, loved me, and never left because of us…but in the end, it was because of us. If even one of them had been born without the sight, he likely would have stayed. Yet, all of them have my eyes. My eyes, but so much of them is him. They…don’t know what he looks like. Never seen a picture, not a single one is hung in the house. I’ve never talked much about him, and none of them seem to concerned with finding out more. I suppose…I’m just torn up about it. I wonder how he is, where he is, what he’s doing. I could guess where he is…could go there right this instant if so possessed, but…why?”

Lev felt a horrible guilt ball up in his chest as he watched the woman, so strong at all times, starting to tear up, her bottom lip trembled and her yet her shoulders stood firm. A monumental effort, given how, if Lev were to, ever so loosely, put himself in her situation, he’d have broken long before now. 

“He…how could he leave?” Instead, he found himself asking.

Because he couldn’t understand.

This man had stood for so many years by a woman he knew he shared nothing with but the burning passionate love in their hearts. 

Yet that had always been enough.

Had the years smothered the spark? 

Or was it really just as said in the novels back cover?

“How could he leave you guys behind? Sure, it must have been hard but after all that time, after all those years? He just…had enough? That can’t be it!”

Ikumi shook her head softly, wiping away the tears with the back of her hand. “Lev…I know how much you care about my family, my son, and everyone else under this roof but it’s clear. Has been for over seventeen years now. Love is a powerful thing, so much so that it inspires foolish decisions in its name. Even choices so grave as vanishing without a goodbye…”

She stood abruptly. 

He could see her walls cracking.

“You should go downstairs, the kids will start for the hunt without you at this rate, and you need all the practice you can get, sweetie!”

The affectionate name tacked on to try and force normalcy, the laugh at the end always so natural now shattered and forced.

Before the towering fifteen year old could say a word, his hand raised to offer any form of comfort, the woman, now hunched with the sudden weight of these years she’d lived so free spirited and strong, fled the room.

Leaving him behind, with that lingering feeling of treachery despite the reassurance offered otherwise hanging like a dark cloud over his head. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! So, the plan is the continue with the bouncy sort of tempo we've had so far, since we still gotta get our LevYaku fluff and bits of our little side ships in there, but I'll be using their snooping as a sort of medium to deliver us even more of that lovely LevYaku time! :D Anyway, please drop a comment down below, they help Ikumi stay strong, and please leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks so much for reading!


	46. Early Morning Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been gone awhile! This chapter DOES get into some touchy territory but please trust me when I say it has a purpose for the story and it will all work in a way that will be really good for the story at least I really really hope ;-; Pls don't be mad at me.   
> Anyway! Please enjoy~

 

**_Lev’s apartment._ **

 

Tonight was one of those mornings.

Tonight was one of those mornings.

_ Tonight was one of those mornings. _

Can you see why it's one of those mornings already?

Well.

It was one of those mornings his parents got up at ass-o’clock AM to watch the early news and drink their frothed professional coffee machine lattes, because who had time to go to a coffee shop when you could make it yourself?

Lev was half asleep in bed, listening to them talking with, thankfully, a volume considerate to their slumbering, sleep deprived college/high school burdened children. He could just imagine them munching their smoked salmon topped bagels, sat at the breakfast nook watching the pristinely hung TV on the latest going ons around town.

_Downsides of a small apartment…shoulda slept over at Mori's..._

He dragged a pillow over his head and tried to go back to sleep. It was Saturday, not only that, a blissful Saturday he wasn’t running out the door at five am to climb into a dragon saddle and scream all the way to the Underground.

Then, he couldn’t decide if it was a blessing or a curse, since, honestly, if it _were_ a Saturday like that, he’d probably be kicking his feet off the edge of the summoning platform, drawing spell scrolls with Hitoka, listening to Morisuke and Tsukishima arguing, while Kenma and Yamaguchi awkwardly tried to train Ashelle to sit like some sort of puppy.

Not to mention Noya failing at flirting with Asahi, Tanaka failing at being a wingman, and Kiyoko gently critiquing his spell circles.

_It is equally as early though…I’d probably be on Guila right about now…holding Mori’s hand…listening to Tsukki complain about how perfect he is…_

Sounded like a heavenly morning to him, but after the academic _and_ magical load on him these past months, he was grateful for the extra sleep.

Or the extra lie in bed listening to his parents watch TV time.

Either way.

_Not to mention that whole ‘Heroine’ incident…_

Lev groaned at the very thought.

Ikumi had acted like nothing had happened, which Lev couldn’t decide if he were grateful for or angry with. 

One part of him was just dying to know the rest of the story with Norio, why she hadn’t gone after him when she knew where he was, why he’d avoided returning for so many years, if he really was still providing money after all this time, and so much more.

The other part of him was willing to let the issue be buried in the past, just like Norio himself. He was willing to hang from that little knowledge he did have and hopefully help be Ikumi’s psychiatrist just a tad bit along the way.

_Besides…considering he left just after Mori was born, that means it’s been over seventeen years since he packed up and hopped ship…and from what I could gather from Ikumi-san’s words in the library, he hasn’t made so much as a word of contact since…so why worry about it?_

But he _was_ worried.

Worried about Ikumi, his surrogate mother, and if things kept moving the way they were (and Lev wasn’t sure about gay marriage in the Underground) mother-in-law someday.

Also worried about his actual mother.

And father, too, while we’re at it.

Sister, not so much.

After all, she already knew he was…

A. Gayer than expected and…

B. In a surreal relationship with the upperclassman of his dreams.

His parents, however, were around so little that they hadn’t been able to catch on to his frequent absence at the Yaku household, or to question his ‘monthly camping trips’ since his ‘good friend Yaku-san’ and his family loved the outdoors so much and always invited him along.

Yeah.

That was a bit of an issue.

See, his problem with it was that he had absolutely no idea what his parents opinions on homosexuality were.

He knew Alisa could care less.

He also knew all of his friends (which, let’s be honest, were all mostly his boyfriends friends) didn’t care.

His parents, though...he’d never really had the opportunity to get into a conversation about that type of thing with them.

Now, don’t get this wrong, his parents loved him.

They were great parents.

Wonderful parents, in fact.

Just…busy parents.

Very, very, very busy parents.

So here Lev was, left pondering a problem he really felt as though he should have some inkling of an answer too and yet had no idea.

Alisa had insisted they’d be fine with it, and Lev was inclined to agree, but yet, there was this deep nagging fear that somehow they’d just turn a complete 180 from everything he’d been expecting.

_If they do, I could always move in with Mori and sleep in one of those hammocks in the basement._

Lev snickered at the thought of showing up, all his worldly belongings in hand, Shouyou with his kitty carrier and plush crow in hand, saying to a stunned Ikumi at the door.

‘Hey, you already have 3 kids, 5 ghosts, 2 demons and a shifter, got room for 2 more?’

After this initial amusement, he felt a somber mood come over him.

Ikumi would say yes.

Yes, of course she had room!

Even if she really didn’t.

Room in the house sure, room for two more mouths?

For a family who could talk to ghosts and hunt monsters that made gold appear when they were defeated, it was stretched a little thinner than you’d think.

_That’s with or without Norio’s money…Norio-san? Shitsuren-san? Ugh…whatever._

Lev threw his pillow down somewhere near his feet and rolled onto his back.

_I haven’t got to worry about that yet…and besides, I practically live there anyway…_

He pricked his ears up when he caught a headline being read from the TV.

“A Pride festival is underway in downtown, hundreds have turned out so far and it’s sure to get bigger as the day goes on, we’ve got our correspondent down by…”

The female news anchor droned on, but Lev was caught by hearing just the tiniest snippet of what his parents were discussing, voices just barely audible through the crack in his door.

“…that’s disgusting…how could they allow that to happen?”

His father, Hakaru’s, voice carried.

“…I can’t believe they wouldn’t arrest them for that…”

His mother, Natalya, replied.

And somewhere down in the depths of Lev’s lightless soul, something slipped, went tumbling down, and _shattered_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said up above. Pls don't be mad at me ;-; I promise it'll have a point just give me a few more chapters. Anyway! Please leave a comment down below, they help Lev stop thinking so much, we all know it hurts his head, and please leave kudos if you've never been here before! Thanks so much for reading!


	47. I know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The continuing saga of Lev's poor dramatic life ;-; Plus Shouyou getting dragged into it.   
> Or.  
> Pocketed into it.  
> I dunno do kittens fit in pockets?  
> My cat is the size of a small school bus so I've never gotten to try.   
> ANYWAY  
> Please enjoy~

**_Lev’s Apartment._ **

 

“Good morning, dear.” Lev’s mother greeted him, smiling over her shoulder from the breakfast nook, silvery hair falling over her shoulders.   
 ****

“Morning.” He mumbled, avoiding her gaze.

His father caught on in a heartbeat.

“Something wrong, son?” He asked, raising an eyebrow behind his sharp professional black glasses.

“…no, nothing…just didn’t sleep well…”

He randomly shuffled through the fridge, hunched over to try and avoid their eyes.

It was making his skin crawl.

A hand rested on his back and it took every ounce of self control he had not to jump away as quickly as possible.

“You sure you’re alright? You look pale.” Natalya worried.

Lev forced a laugh. “You mean more than usual?”

He finally grabbed a random bottle, pretty sure it was strawberry milk or something, and backed away.

“I’m fine, really, just gonna go hang out at a friends for the day…heh…”

He managed to slink out of the kitchen with a skeptic look from the woman and an even more critical gaze from his Father.

Escaping down the hall, he cracked open the door to Alisa’s room.

“Shouyou…” He whisper yelled, cupping a hand around his mouth.

Nothing.

“Shouyou!” He hissed, daring to be a bit louder.

A small form stood up from the lumps of bedding and curves of his sisters body.

In the dark a pair of chocolatey eyes were visible, looking to the door.

"Come here!" Lev demanded, making the appropriate gesture with his hand.

The back arched sharply and a soundless yawn came out before the little white kitten jumped from the bed, trotting to the door.

Large brown eyes looked up to him, but Lev merely scooped him up and tucked him into the inner pocket of his hoodie.

“I’ll tell you once we’re out, just stay quiet for now.” He murmured as he hurried to his room.

Shoving a few days worth of clothes into his backpack along with homework and school books, he threw it over his shoulder, snagging his phone as well. His charger was ripped from the wall and shoved into his pocket along with the device.

In his jacket pocket, meanwhile, Shouyou seemed to have gotten the message and, after turning over once and hanging his paws over the edge of the pocket, went still.

_I don’t want my parents questioning me grabbing the cat carrier…and I’m not leaving Shouyou here when I don’t even know if I’m coming back for a while._

The clothes in his bag on top of the stuff he’d slowly accumulated over at Mori’s could last him a while, after all.

_Confronting them would probably be better…_

Lev felt their eyes on him as he crossed the living room and arrived at the door, shoving his feet into his sneakers.

_…but I can’t…just…I need to see Mori first…_

He had no idea how his boyfriend was going to help with this, but just having him know the situation, hearing his opinions, being with him, would help in and of itself.

That small presence at his side had gotten him through sacrificing the light of his soul, riding a dragon, wielding a rapier, being possessed by several ghosts, performing magic, chasing down monsters, and so much more.

Surely it could get him through something as common and worldly as judgmental parents?

Right?

_Right?_

“See you later!”

He didn’t wait for a reply.

Admittedly, he ran for the elevator, and moment he was in the elevator he realized his inner jacket pocket was squirming.

Along the way, Shouyou had turned his fur back to orange, and was now poking his head out of the pocket with an accusing expression directed to Lev.

An angry teacup sized kitten, adorable as it was, wasn’t improving Lev’s mood in the slightest.

“Sorry, sorry.” He clasped his palms like he meant it.

“I’ll explain everything once we get to the forest, promise!”

Then they were out the elevator, into the sunny streets, and not long after, arriving in the safety cast by the cool shadows of the trees.

Once they were there, Lev pulled a rather indignant shifter from his pocket and set him on the ground.

A sound like a whip crack echoed through the forest, and Shouyou, still wearing his overlarge black long sleeve, blue hoodie, both of which had probably been Tobio's at some point, and three times cuffed jeans, threw his arms back and shouted.

“What was that!? I was all cozy with Alisa and then you drag me out here!?”

Lev put his hands up in surrender.

“I’m sorry, I just…couldn’t leave you there…I didn’t know when I’d be back.”

The orange furred ears atop his head wilted, and his tail followed suit.

“What do you mean? Why, are we going on a trip? The Underground again?”

A little late, wasn’t it, for the tears to start bubbling in the corners of emerald eyes.

He forced it back though, because the younger boy/cat/magical creature didn’t need to be the one he dumped all this out on.

Then again, it probably wasn’t much better to put it all on Mori.

But hey, that’s what the third year had signed up for when he’d taken that box of chocolates back then.

Emotional support and all.

So he kept it simple.

“My parents they…they said something and it made me upset and…and I’m really scared about it ok? So I decided to go to Mori’s house and I wasn’t leaving you behind in case I spend more than a day or two with him. You can stay with Tobio, right? That’ll be fun!”

He tried, forcing the enthusiasm into his voice.

Shouyou looked up at him with a blank expression before reaching up and patting him on the head.

Quite a stretch, and he was lucky Lev was doing some serious slouching, but he managed.

“Ok! Sounds like a plan! It’ll be ok!” He encouraged with a sharp toothed smile.

Lev looked down at him with tears in his eyes before a shaky smile arose on his face.

“Y-Yeah…thanks Shouyou.” He managed, his throat constricted slightly.

They made the trek the rest of the way to the saggy roofed house on the hill.

Ikumi opened the door, wearing a bathrobe, pajama pants and slippers, and was about to give a warm welcome when she saw the tear tracks on Lev’s face.

“Good morning you two. Tobio’s downstairs, Shouyou, go wake him, alright?” She ushered the shifter inside and gave him a gentle push in the direction of the little under stair door that led to the warmth of the basement.

“Sure!” He stood on tiptoe to peck a kiss to the woman’s cheek as a good morning and then vanished down the creaky stairs.

A few moments later a loud.

“TOBIO!”

A thud, and a resounding.

“THE HELL, DUMBASS!?”

Were heard, but Ikumi clearly wasn’t concerned with that.

“What happened, dear? Come in.” She pulled Lev in by the sleeve and shut the door behind him, fastening the six or so different locks in quick succession.

“I just…my parents were watching the news…I could hear them talking and…the parade in town…they said some stuff…”

All this information was strung together awkwardly with a croaky voice.

Ikumi put a hand on his shoulder, eyes wide.

“Are you sure they meant it?”

He hesitated before a watery sigh came out.

“I’m too scared to ask…” He admitted.

The auburn haired woman’s hands fluttered about with anxiety.

“Oh, love, I…ok, I’ll go get him….”

With that she went thundering up the stairs.

A few minutes later Morisuke came sliding down the banister, landing on the wood with another thud to wake the early morning household.

He dragged a black hoodie over his head as he came rapidly into the living room.

“Hey, Mom said something was…”

That was all he got out before he was smothered.

“They’re gonna hate me…what if they hate me?” Lev sputtered out.

“Whoa, ok, who did what to hate who?” Morisuke pushed Lev back just enough to see him in the face.

“My parents said something…that makes me think they might not like _us_.”

Mori winced. “Oh…uh…oh…how about we go back upstairs?”

The taller was frozen up a bit.

“You’re not mad?”

Yaku seemed confused. “What the hell is there for _me_ to get mad about?”

“Well…you did always talk about meeting them.”

Morisuke wilted. “I just…I know how much they mean to you, even if you don’t always get along. Come on, let’s just go upstairs before anyone else shows up to…”

“LEV-CHAN ARE YOU OK!?” Tooru came barreling through the ceiling with Hajime right behind him.

“You got hurt? Something happened?” The yakuza heir demanded, hands fisted like he was ready to beat up whoever hurt his young friend.

You know, if he _could_.

Suga was moments behind with a face like a defensive mother and Keiji even seemed extremely worried.

Lev wanted to laugh.

It came out more like a sob.

The emerald eyed boy was trying to put together a competent explanation but his boyfriend said something before he could.

“He’s fine, his parents said something and now he’s staying here until later notice.”

Lev didn’t miss how Morisuke’s hands tightened around his arm protectively, just daring someone to try and argue this.

Not like any of them would argue, if anything they’d agree if they knew the full situation.

They'd probably still agree even if they _didn't_ know the full situation. 

Once he calmed down, he swore he’d explain properly.

Lev looked around at the four of them before furrowing his brow.

“Where’s Kuroo-san?”

_My voice is like a frogs…_

Keiji straightened up midair, straightening his tie from the mad dash, or, fly, down here.

“Spending the night with Kenma.”

“Go get him. And tell Kenma to come over here too.” Mori ordered.

“Got it.” Hajime started for the door.

“Wait for me!” Tooru chased behind.

Suga took ahold of Keiji’s arm. “We’ll all go, you guys do your thing.”

The two of them took their leave as well.

“We don’t need to drag Kuroo-san and Kenma-san into this…” Lev mumbled as Morisuke began hauling him towards the stairs.

“They’ll be pissed if we don’t let them know what’s going on.” Mori pointed out.

They ended up sitting on the edge of Morisuke’s bed and for a few minutes all that happened was the middle blocker trying to get his act together.

Once he’d calmed down enough that his voice wouldn’t come out warbled from a constricted throat he opened his mouth.

He told Morisuke about what happened. How he’d been in bed, his parents had been watching TV, he’d heard the news anchor, and exactly what they’d said.

“I just…I don’t want them to hate me…or you! I want them to meet you and…I just kept holding off on telling them even though Ikumi-san and you and everyone gave me confidence in it and I know I should have told them but now I’m almost glad I didn’t but I don’t know and I just I’m so scared they’re gonna…” His breath was gone and his hands were shaking. He was going on and on, not sure where to stop.

Morisuke rolled his eyes at the rambling, put an arm around Lev’s neck, and dragged him down for a kiss.

A second later he let go and looked him in the eye, holding his close.

“Whatever they think, I’m not gonna say it doesn’t matter, because it does. Of course it does. But it won’t change what we’ve got, and that you’ve got a family here too. We’ll see how it goes…but…you can always come to me.”

There went the calmness, because he was crying again.

Morisuke hugged him around the middle, making sure the first year knew he wasn’t going anywhere.

“It’ll turn out one way or another, but it’s gonna be ok, alright?” The older whispered, rubbing soothing circles into his back.

Another trembling breath.

“I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! I finally got some more couple-y stuff in there :D At the expense of Lev's relationship with his parents...oops.  
> So, there's that. Well! Please drop a comment down below, they help Mori be the best boyfriend on the planet (which he already is) and leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks for reading!


	48. Confusion {With Just a Pinch of Ignorance}

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is where things start to turn around a bit!  
> Please enjoy~

 

**_That Evening._ **

 

“So…are you gonna stay here tonight?” Kenma asked from where he sat on the rug in Morisuke’s bedroom.

Lev hesitated, sat on the edge of the bed. “I mean…yeah, I think so. I don’t think I’m ready to go home quite yet.”

Morisuke glanced up from where he was scribbling in his journal, propped up against pillows leaning on the headboard. “Like I said, stay as long as you like. Mom would probably rather you stay after something like that.”

Kenma flopped over onto his side, holding his PSP above his head, though he wasn’t looking at the screen at the moment.

Ashelle, who’d been sleeping in his lap and had now been toppled to the rug, let out a grumpy huff at her keeper before clambering up onto Kenma’s chest and curling up once more.

The bottle blonde lowered his game device and began gently stroking the dragon along one of her wings as he spoke. “I guess I’m just worried…my parents and I aren’t great, so I’m not really bothering with hiding that I like guys. I never really told them about it either. You sure they won't like...call the police and report you missing or something?”

Lev groaned. “I hope they don't. And...I mean, yeah, me and my parents aren’t on _spectacular_ terms either! But they care, and they try their best. They’re a bit strict, yeah, and I wish they’d loosen up a _lot_ most times, but they’re still my Mom and Dad. I still love them. I still don’t want them to hate me.”

Morisuke rolled his eyes. “Stop saying that, you’re gonna make yourself cry again.” He insisted.

Lev dabbed at his eyes with his sleeve, this prediction of his boyfriends already coming to fruition. “Yeah…sorry.”

For a while after that, comfortable silence reigned.

Lev laid back against the wall Morisuke’s bed was pushed up against, reading a book about practical spell casting, Morisuke’s pen continued to fill the air with a soft scratching as he penned in whatever possessions and hunts he’d done that week, along with personal thoughts scattered amongst the way. Kenma starting playing his PSP again, rolling over onto his stomach. This got his little dragon all huffy again, so she jumped up onto the bed and nosed her way under Lev’s arm for a more stable napping space.

In this situation, not talking and just being was probably the best thing to do, after all. Lev certainly didn’t want to go on about the debacle that had occurred only this morning, while needless to say Morisuke and Kenma had no idea what they could say to make things better.

Being there, however, was something they could both do.

An hour ticked by in this comfortable silence, each one of them so immersed in their personal pastimes they didn’t even bother to check the time. In this time Lev was able to relax, finding himself able to forget just for fractions of a second the reason he was hiding up here.

Yeah.

This was definitely better than words.

 

**_The Next Morning._ **

 

Ikumi yawned as she poured out her third mug of coffee of the day.

It was only 8 AM too, she was weak for the stuff.

Novel in hand, this one not a memory filled, love letter, break up, engagement ending book, but inside a murder mystery novel her daughter had suggested, she made her way out to the front porch.

It was a beautiful morning, after all, the sun still fresh in the sky and the tips of the clouds just tingeing with pink at the dawn of the day.

She settled herself back into the plushy outdoor chair, slightly moth eaten but still comfy, and cracked back open her book. Her pink bathrobe enswathed figure hummed a little mindless tune as she skimmed through the pages, occasionally sipping her coffee. Fuzzy green slippered feet shifted between resting flat, coming up to criss cross under her, crossing at the ankle, crossing at the knee, all as she ate her way steadily through this novel.

It was a very good book, masterfully written, for the first time in what seemed like ages she was reading a mystery novel where she still wasn’t sure who the killer was.

_Feels like the more you read, the more predictable the stories get…it’s harder to find good novels for good readers. Sometimes I’ll find myself knowing the ending to a book after the third paragraph…_

Ikumi sighed, but then her excitement at the story renewed. It had been so long since she’d been truly immersed in a good book, it felt.

_Not since Heroine._

She snickered dryly.

At least she kept good humor in it.

As she turned another page, she could hear footsteps coming up the path.

Her eyebrows raised in suspicion, because the only two people who’d arrive at her house this early were both sound asleep on pallets in her youngest sons room.

She stood up, looking out over the fence too see a harried couple rushing up the path towards the house. The man’s glasses were askew and his black hair was stuck up every which way instead of neatly slicked down. The woman, who she noted was taller than her companion, had her silver hair in a rushed ponytail and her eyes were filled with worry. Wearing tossed together clothes, obviously in a big hurry to get to the Yaku household.

_I don’t like this…the man isn’t as obvious, but the woman is a dead giveaway…these must be Lev’s parents._

Ikumi steeled herself.

_Time to go Mama Bear._

She set her novel down on the side table and drained the rest of her coffee mug, savoring the burn of flavor it left behind down her throat.

She drank some _really_ strong coffee.

Plonking the mug back down, she made for the gate just as a frantic knock came from the other side.

Unlatching the gate, Ikumi plastered on a clueless expression.

“Good morning…? Can I help you with something?” She asked, looking between the two of them as if she had no idea why they’d be at her house.

“Yes, please, see, well, I’m Haiba Natalya, this is my husband Hakaru, you must be the Mother of our sons friend. Lev…his sister said this was where he’d go if he were anywhere! He didn’t come home last night, we called him dozens of times, is he here?” The woman rattled off, wringing her hands with worry.

“If he isn’t here we’re calling the police.” The man said firmly, clearly this had been his first instinct but he’d been dissuaded by his wife from going directly to the authorities.

Ikumi hesitated.

_No use lying and saying he’s not here, if I do that there’ll be a missing teen hunt by this afternoon…oh well…_

“He is here, although he came looking extremely upset. Said something his parents had said made him come over here.”

She said guardedly, knowing full well the interior of her home was not up to snuff to invite these two in.

_Then, we did just clean the downstairs…no weapons are lying around if I remember correctly, if I could make sure they didn’t see upstairs I could pass it off as us having dark tastes…we even recently removed the diadem from the mantel and replaced it with a family photo so I suppose…if there is a weapon around I can always say Shin or someone is a collector…_

Natalya put a hand to his heart and sagged in relief, muttering something under her breath in Russian. 

“What? What did we say?” The raven haired man turned to his wife.

“I don’t…I don’t remember anything! I barely spoke to him yesterday, he left right away and he seemed in a fit…what were we talking about at breakfast? He could have overheard us. Anything bad? Anything he could have misunderstood?”

“Did he tell you what upset him?” The Father was now rounding on Ikumi.

The woman merely put her hands up, signaling she wanted no part in this issue. “That’s something you’d have to bring up with him but…I’ll give you a hint, from what he said you were watching the newscast yesterday.”

They looked at each other, then back at Ikumi, then at each other again.

“What? We didn’t say anything during that that would upset him this much!” The Father insisted, running a hand nervously through his unkempt hair.

His Russian wife pinched her nose. “What were we talking about…work, then to do with Lev’s volleyball match, do you think he got upset because we mentioned we might not make it?”

Ikumi’s shoulders slouched.

_This might take awhile._

“No, that couldn’t be it, he’d understand something like that, surely it wouldn’t be enough to make him run away like this and then ignore all our calls.” Hakaru rallied back.

“Well what else did we talk about that would have hurt him? What about how you said the animal shelter commercial was depressing?” The Mother harped.

“That was about all the starving animals they showed! We adopted him a cat, he knows I don’t think the actual animal shelters are depressing!” The Father defended himself.

“Speaking of the cat, it was gone yesterday wasn’t it? I was so worried about Lev I barely noticed. Did it run away? Did he think we let it out? And that’s why the commercial upset him?” The woman now suggested. 

“No way! That’s stupid! He’s nearly an adult, if that was the case he’d come ask us….right?” Hakaru didn't sound convinced.

“He is a bit of a kid at times…” The silver haired woman was wringing her hands again, perfectly manicured nails popping in and out of view.

“But that can’t be…” Hakaru grumbled, putting a hand to his forehead.

Ikumi threw her hands up.

“The pride parade! You said something bad about the pride parade!”

They looked to her with mouths like fish out of water before Natalya interjected.

“No we didn’t. Not a single word.”

It was Ikumi’s turn to be confused.

“But…he said you were saying things like how they should be arrested…and that they were disgusting?”

Hakaru clapped a hand to the side of his head, harder than before. “There were people throwing rocks and yelling slurs at the parade. They were showing it onscreen, and I said they were disgusting, hating people because they love each other, that’s ridiculous!”

Natalya nodded quickly. “And I said they should be arrested for throwing things! That’s got to assault, or harassment at the very least!”

Ikumi went tight lipped for a moment before groaning.

“Now it makes sense…Lev was awake at the time, and all he heard was the newscaster talking about the parade and then you saying stuff like that. That’s why he ran over here, he was scared.”

Hakaru crossed his arms. “What’s to be scared about? Has he done some sort of coming out help at school or something? Are there gays on the volleyball team?”

Natalya pursed her lips. “Actually that one strange short upperclassman he talks about all the time sounds like he might fit the bill, though I’ve never met him or even seen him before…”

“That would be my son. He and your son have an _extremely_ close relationship.” Ikumi decided to clear that up before they went any further, surely that was big enough a hint.

Natalya gasped. “Oh! That makes sense! He’s such good friends with your son he couldn’t stand hearing us talk like that! Now I feel terrible, I didn’t even realize he was upset about that.”

Ikumi was internally banging her head off a wall.

“So that’s it then? Still can’t believe he nearly killed us both with worry over something like that, why didn’t he just talk to us?” Hakaru grumbled.

Natalya put a hand on his shoulder. “Now, he’s still a bit of an emotional youth, remember? He probably thought we’d make him stop seeing his friend or something like that.”

Hakaru sighed. “Still not worth all this damn trouble."

Ikumi pursed her lips before exhaling very slowly and plastering a welcoming smile on her face.

"Well, kids will be kids, he's certainly far from an adult isn't he?" 

Natalya readily agreed. "Of course! You're absolutely right...erm..."

She put her hand up as a greeting. "Yaku Ikumi. Why don't you two come inside and have some coffee? Lev's sure to be up any minute and then you all can talk this out."

_And hopefully it goes smoother than this train wreck of a conversation..._

Either way, they took the offer, and Ikumi pulled back the gate to allow them in, swinging it shut and clicking the latch behind them.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! See! Lev's parents aren't homophobic!  
> I mean, they weren't when they didn't know their son was gay, at least.  
> Well.  
> We'll see how that goes next time! Please drop a comment down below, they help Ashelle find a relatively still human to nap on, and leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks so much for reading!  
> {April 21: I got some feedback on this chapter from some trusted readers and a personal friend of mine and decided to change this arc entirely from the original plan. I scrapped it from here on out and am going a totally different route because I don't want to hurt anyone and I didn't realize the idea I formerly had could have resulted in that. Thankfully everyone seemed to understand what I was trying to do and really nice about it, even saying I didn't need to change it but I wanted too because I don't want anything like that to remain in the story, since I'm trying really hard to bring to attention the necessity for an arc normal as this amongst all the magic, spell casting, dragons and all that that. So that's all, just thought I'd let you know. Thanks again for reading!}


	49. Hide no More.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long! Wrapping up school was SUCH A HASSLE X-X But I MADE IT! SCHOOL'S OUT! FANFICTION TIME! AYYYYYYYYYYYYE!  
> So.   
> Here's the long anticipated Lev coming out chapter!  
> If you never read it, I made some changes to the ending of the previous chapter. I got some comments about how it ended before, and I really wanted to change it so everyone would be comfortable and happy with this conclusion. So if you didn't read it, you might want to go back and just read like the last paragraph of the last chapter or so, just so you know what went down.   
> Now that that's out of the way! Please enjoy!

Lev smelled smoke.

Not really the nicest thing to smell first in the morning.

But when he realized it was just Ashelle curled up on his chest, occasionally puffing out little smoke rings, he calmed down a bit. He was asleep on a pallet at the foot of Mori’s bed, while Kenma was sleeping on another one to the side of the bed. Sitting up, worn old blanket sliding off him, he carefully maneuvered the still snoozing dragon to the side so he wouldn’t wake her.

He stroked her smooth, cool scales absentmindedly for a moment, enjoying the unique feel underneath his fingertips, before he recognized voices coming from downstairs.

However, considering he was on the third floor, where Mori's cramped room beneath the attic was, all he could tell was that someone was talking, not even so much as identify the voice.

_Ikumi-san must be up by now…maybe even Shin-san too…_

He thought to himself as he looked up to his boyfriend.

Nothing more than a small ball underneath his covers, a tuft of auburn hair poking up as the only thing insuring he was even there.

Kenma was laid out on his back, covers pulled up to his chin, one hand still loosely grasping at his PSP.

Sighing, Lev laid back down.

He didn’t want to face the day.

It was Sunday, which meant he had to figure out what he was doing. If he showed his face at school tomorrow surely he’d be found out, and his parents would get ahold of him. If he skipped, he’d probably be considered missing and his parents would freak.

_I’ll have to talk to them one way or another._

Anxiety bubbled in his chest all over again.

Shaking his head, he rolled onto his side and began petting Ashelle again, more for his own comfort than that at the baby Scandinavian Angel.

Soon enough, though, his fretting got the better of him and he got up. He had a set of pajamas left permanently at the Yaku’s house, so the old sweatpants and comfy tee shirt he was wearing weren’t something from his hastily packed bag from home.

He tiptoed over Kenma, softly shutting the door to the bedroom behind him.

Rubbing one eye, he made his way to the bathroom.

After washing his face he felt loads better, his eyes no longer holding that heavy feeling associated with sleep.

He shuffled his way downstairs, and when he rounded the corner he was faced with two people he wasn’t quite ready to see yet.

His parents were sitting at the kitchen counter, Ikumi having offered them both coffee.

For a moment he stood speechless, mouth hanging half open before his Mother flung herself at him, nearly knocking over her coffee in the process.

“MY BABY! I WAS SO WORRIED! DON’T YOU DARE RUN OFF LIKE THAT AGAIN! WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST TALK TO US?” She demanded as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

He froze, staring past her and his Father, who was rising as well, at Ikumi.

 _They know?_ He mouthed in a strange mix of horror and relief.

Horror because, well, he never got to tell them himself, which would suck in the long run.

Relief because, well, he never _had_ to tell them himself, and a part of him would be grateful to avoid that conversation.

Ikumi hesitated before she made an iffy gesture, holding up her palm horizontal to the ground and waggling it slightly.

Lev furrowed his brow, and she simply put a finger up, telling him to hold the thought.

However, Ikumi didn’t need to explain, because his Father had just made his approach.

“If you thought we’d stop you from spending time with your friend just because he’s gay, you should have said something!” He grumbled, clearly trying to keep his cool.

Lev’s eyes widened. “Wait…but you…what?”

He was confused on _multiple_ levels right now.

Thankfully, his Mother was all to happy to fill in the gaps.

“When we were talking the other morning, we were talking about the people throwing things at the parade! They were horrible, they should have been arrested. We have no issue with the people who were participating in the parade!”

Lev opened and closed his mouth without comment.

Hakaru spoke again, putting a hand on his sons shoulder.

“So, like I said previously, if you’re worried about us stopping you from seeing your friend, who is Yaku-san’s son as I understand, we would never.”

Ikumi, in the background, smacked her forehead with her palm repeatedly, she'd been dropping more hints throughout the entire coffee conversation and that still hadn't even given them an inkling of the truth. Thankfully she was frustrated softly enough not to cause a commotion in the family moment going on.

“Oh…uh…well…” Lev struggled at the crossroad here.

On one hand, he could go with his parents oblivious assumption and keep his secret, or he could finally just up and admit the truth.

Before either decision could be made, a loud thud at the bottom of the stairs made itself known.

The sound of someone landing over they just slid down the banister. 

“What’s going on down here, there’s so many voices, why is everyone…oh…sorry I uh…”

Mori turned the corner, wearing a his Nekoma sweatpants and a magic circle tee shirt, and immediately took a back step to flee.

“Oh, you must be the gay one. Good morning!” Natalya greeted.

 _“What?”_ Mori demanded incredulously.

“Mom!” Lev snapped, face flushing, as Ikumi facepalmed double time in the kitchen.

“Which gay one? In this house it’s more effective to ask who’s straight.” Oikawa had made an appearance, and of course the parents couldn’t see him, but Lev had to resist the urge to reprimand the ghost as well.

The other ghosts were coming in, taking in the situation.

Without a word, Iwaizumi snagged Oikawa by the back of the jacket and dragged him through the ceiling again, ignoring his shouts of protest.

“I WANNA SEE THE DRAMA!” He complained, but he was hauled away regardless.

Mori awkwardly shuffled in the living room, taking refuge next too, well more like slightly behind, Lev.

“Could someone please explain what’s going on here? Are these your parents?” He asked.

Lev wilted. “Uh. Yeah. They are. And they think I ran away because I’m scared they’ll make me stop seeing you, my _best friend._ ”

Mori actually snorted before managing to reign himself into a straight face.

“O-Oh…ok…”

Natalya, meanwhile, was puzzled. “What do you mean ‘we think?” She asked.

Hakaru pushed his glasses up again, with the same question held in his eyes.

Mori elbowed Lev in the side.

“Now or never.” He encouraged softly.

Then, behind his parents heads, Oikawa’s head popped down from the ceiling and he waved. 

“YOU CAN DO IT!” He hollered before someone on the upper floor, presumably Hajime once more, pulled him up again.

Ikumi also gave him a thumbs up, and well.

Now was a better time than any.

Lev straightened up and took a heavy breath.

“He’s not by best friend.” He said firmly.

His parents stared blanking between him and Morisuke for a moment.

Before any more assumptions could be made, he spat it out.

“He’s my _boyfriend."_

Again, silence.

 _"That’s_ why I ran.”

Silence hung tense in the air, and Mori actually slipped his hand into Lev's larger one to try and motivate some sort of reply.

A pretty bold move for someone as allergic to PDA or anything resembling it as he was.

Natalya then let out a very long, drawn out gasp.

“Ooooooooooooh! That makes so much more sense!”

She then tapped her pointer fingers off each other. “Now I feel a bit silly…it was blatantly obvious, huh?”

“Yep.” Mori chirped, ignoring how Lev looked down at him accusingly.

“Well if that’s the case…” Hakaru began gravely.

Another bit of heart pounding silence.

Lev swore if there were any more of this his heart would burst.

“…I can’t believe you haven’t invited him and his family to dinner yet! And they’d been putting you up over here for months. They’ll think we raised you poorly.”

His Father delivered a soft chop to his forehead. “And in case it wasn’t obvious, we don’t care. If you’re happy, we’re happy. Just don’t do anything stupid, alright?”

Lev glanced down to Morisuke.

_Is dragon riding, magic circle drawing, ghost possessing, and weapon wielding considered stupid?_

He thought to himself.

As if he could hear his thoughts, Yaku shrugged.

“Glad that worked out. Now you can stop bumming around he…”

Before he could finish he was being aggressively hugged by Lev’s Mom.

“Thank you so much for putting up with this boy! I know he can be dense sometimes! I'm sure he's given you so much trouble!”

“MOM!” Lev wailed again, tugging at her shoulder.

Hakaru stepped up next to his son.

“A shame too, I was planning on having so much fun embarrassing you in front of your girlfriend…” He heaved a sigh.

“…your boyfriend is gonna have to do.”

“Wait did I hear embarrass? As in embarrass Lev? Because that sounds like fun.” Morisuke contributed, still in the process of trying to get away from Natalya.

“MORI!” Lev shouted.

Morisuke crossed his arms. “You’ve gotten to spend, like, hours with my Mom and my older brother and sister! Not to mention freaking Kenma! You’ve heard so many embarrassing stories!”

“What about freaking me?” Kenma poked his head around the corner.

The second he saw the situation going down in the living room he beat a hasty retreat, hugging Ash to his chest as he went.

Meanwhile, Natalya was all to happily chattering away with Ikumi about setting up a date for them to come to their apartment for dinner, and Hakaruwas trying to do that ‘intimidating your sons significant other’ thing but since Mori was kind of difficult to intimidate it was looking more like an awkward conversation about life goals.

In which Mori was spouting the same lies he’d given to Lev before the sight had been granted to the silver haired boy.

Taking this in, Lev felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest.

He could finally get up, head for the door, and tell his parents he was off for a date with his boyfriend.

So it was a bit of a messy way to come out, but he’d done it. He’d arrived at this settled place where he no longer had to hide.

Well.

Hide his sexuality, at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lev doesn't have to hide! Well, at least not his sexuality! Yaaaaaaay! Now he's the question. Do you guys want to see the Yaku's go to the Haiba's for dinner? Which would also involve some moments of Alisa and Mei possibly having a chance to become a side ship...? Would people like to see that? Also with the tiny tiny tiny chance of Alisa becoming a seer through a new little adventure??? Opinions??? Or should I get back to the magic training and ghostlyness and do the dinner later/never at all? Please let me know your thoughts! That's all for now! Please leave a comment, they help Mori survive Lev's overenthusiastic Mother, and leave kudos if you've never been here before! Thanks for reading!


	50. Uninvited Guest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took awhile, summer classes got a bit hectic and I had to cram, then the 4th rolled around and family was in town. I also struggled to come up with a way to blend in some necromancer stuff. Honestly this chapter was a bit tough because I really wanted to introduce Mei with Alisa as a little idea I really want to explore, but then I'm also trying to figure out how to start working towards the end of this story. I'm sort of just going back through, checking all the loose ends I have and making sure I have plans to tie them up before this thing is over. But for now, it's just more awkward gay necromancers for you! :D Enjoy!

**_Lev’s apartment complex._ **

 

“This feels…strange.” Mei stated after a moment.

“Remind me again why we’re dressed up like we’re about to catch a dragon, Mom?” She then turned to her Mother.

“Because we’re guests, and these are the best clothes any of us own, darling.” Ikumi replied patiently as they made their way for the elevator.

All of them were wearing their usual underground dress clothes, minus the hoods of course. Dress shirts, vests, and slacks on the guys, with Mei wearing a red tight fit dress that sculpted over her shoulders and settled down into three quarters sleeves with black trim, black rose lace decorating the midsection, along with black stockings and heeled red sandals. Her hair tumbled in gorgeous auburn waves over her shoulders and down her back.

Ikumi was wearing a black strapless with a red belt hanging around her waist. It fell in silky folds down to just past her knees, where it met a set of surprisingly modest height of heels. Her bob was combed back and her bangs were pinned by a few black bobby pins.

_Her boots are usually twice that height…_

Mori noted.

It was no secret to him that his Mother was an attractive woman. He could recall several incidents throughout his life where people would try to hit on her. He and his siblings took great joy in making the twenty something’s who would give this a shot a good shock. They’d start goading each other when they spotted Ikumi, elbowing in attempts to convince someone to make a move. When a daring guy would try, well, Mori would find it beyond hilarious to waltz up from wherever it as he’d been and come up with something or another to ask of her.

Making sure to address her as ‘Mom’ of course.

The look on their faces, seeing the trio of siblings nearly their age, and making the quick connection that the woman they were hitting on was old enough to be their _own_ Mother, sent them into a humiliated stuttering bout of apologies. 

Shin tugged awkwardly at his tie as he spoke softly down to Mori.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to let them come?”

He asked, subtly jerking his chin behind them.

You know, because Kuroo, Oikawa, Iwaizumi, Suga, and Akaashi weren’t about to be left out of this.

Neither was Kenma, but that was less of his decision and more of Natalya, Lev’s Mother’s, insistence that he be invited as well.

After the initial introduction and Lev coming out, all that good stuff, Kenma had been coaxed into joining the family fun.

After it had been made painfully clear Kenma was more or less Ikumi’s fourth child, what with her doting on him to eat more breakfast and going out of her way to make him a separate pot for tea since he couldn’t stand coffee, Natalya made it clear that he was to attend their impending family bonding dinner.

When Kenma had weakly argued he wasn’t related to them, and therefore shouldn’t intrude, Natalya all but smothered him with reassurances that he seemed like the cousin who never left the house from the second she met him.

Well.

If or not he was flattered by that, no one knows, but he’s here. He’d recently taken a day trip down to Miyagi, having given Tadashi the honor of dragon sitting until they met up at the underground in a few weeks.

To endless teasing of being the dragons parents, rest assured.

Anyway, in the time it took to get up to the seventh floor, and walk down the short hallway to the door of Lev’s house, Morisuke was already starting to worry.

_After all…what if they aren’t dressed up? What if we make them uncomfortable showing up like this. What if they think we’re weird for all the dark colors? What if they make some weird Russian food and we don’t like it and we offend them?_

Of course, all of these things were forced to the back of his head as the door swung open after his Mother knocked.

“Welcome! It’s so great to finally meet you all personally! Lyovochka talks about you all the time!”

“ALISA! I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT WHILE THEY’RE HERE!” Lev’s voice hollered from somewhere in the back of the house.

However, the one presently before them, one Haiba Alisa, was beaming brightly at the sight of their company.

She was wearing a white long sleeved top with flared sleeves, a silver necklace with a hart charm hung around her neck, and she was wearing a pair of cream colored dress pants to match. Her silvery hair was held back by a thin silver headband, the rest tied back into a low ponytail that curled to an end just past her shoulders. She had several silver rings adorning her fingers, along with a few beaded bracelets that were a surprising pop of color among the rest of the angelic themed outfit.

Introductions started up, Alisa happily shaking hands with Ikumi, Shin, Kenma, and with Mori even though she’d met him before.

When she turned to Mei, offering her hand, she was met with a statue in her stead.

“Um…Mei? Mei!” Morisuke elbowed her harshly in the ribs.

“O-Oh! Oh! Uh! Yeah! Sorry! Hi! Nice to meet you!”

“You too, Mei, I hope you can be friends!” Alisa replied with another shining smile.

“You too! I mean, me too! I mean, yeah!”

Alisa let go of the awkwardly long handshake, seeming unaffected by Mei’s nervous reply, and welcomed them inside.

Mei swatted both Mori and Kenma on the backs of the heads to stop their snickering, and shot a glare over her shoulder at Oikawa and Kuroo, who were openly laughing at her failed greeting to the beautiful girl.

“Hey everyone!” Lev arrived from the back, and Mori couldn’t believe what he was looking at.

A white dress shirt, which seemed to be following the theme of the rest of his family, and yet.

He was wearing the ribbon tie from the underground, the black one, along with the black slacks and the belt with the lion buckle.

He looked like he could easily fit with both the clean, plain style of his own family, and the dark and powerful colors of his boyfriends own clan.

Also, just worth noting, he looked hot.

Mori had to actually glance away to avoid going red in the face at the sight.

_Because god dammit Lev if you’re going to wear a tie, you need to button your shirt all the way! Stop showing so much collarbone!_

Granted, Lev always wore his shirt like that to school, but without the vest her usually wore atop it, the extra inch of exposed skin was suddenly way more obvious.

“Welcome, welcome! Please come on in, dinner should be ready in about half an hour! Lev, get them something to drink.”

Natalya swatted her son in the elbow, and he obediently headed for the fridge.

While Lev was rummaging through the lower shelves of the fridge, Morisuke jumped at Suga suddenly swooping up next to him.

“Is it just me…or is there a little face poking out of the oven?”

Sure enough, Natalya had just opened a crack in the oven, likely to check on whatever was broiling away inside.

Just as Suga had said, there was glowing little yellow face with blue fire for wispy hair emerging from the crack. As Natalya made to shut the oven the little thing hopped nimbly up onto the handle of the stove and then jumped onto the burners. It ran across the way, revealing it had blue fire covering it’s body in something akin to a dress, and as it ran it gave a shove to the nearby salt shaker, sending it tumbling off the counter and too the floor.

“Oh! Clumsy me! Shut the door to hard.” Natalya hummed to herself as she picked up the salt shaker.

“I got it, Mom.” Alisa volunteered, crouching with a wet napkin in hand to pat up the spilled salt.

A furious fit of giggles exploded from the little sprite, a grin wide on it’s features.

It, well, it appeared to be a she, then continued along the countertop and made an impressive leap to the breakfast nook table, where she began nosing around the dishes set out in preparation for the table to be set.

Mori blinked, frowning. “Is it a…pixie? No…maybe a fire sprite…hey, Lev.”

He moved over to his boyfriend, who had been handing out the drinks he’d fetched.

“What’s up?” The taller questioned as he handed Mori a soda.

The auburn haired necromancer took the glass as he spoke in a quiet tone.

“Don’t be obvious, but I think there’s a fire sprite in your kitchen.”

Lev glanced over his shoulder, emerald eyes scanning over the countertops, passing over Ikumi, with Shin shadowing, chatting with Hakaru, Mei trying her best not to made a fool of herself as she talked to Alisa, and eventually he saw the little yellow fire haired girl currently toying around with a salad fork.

“Um…what is she?” He asked quietly.

“Fireplace sprite…not to be confused with a fairy.” Kenma commented quietly as he sipped at his soda, having made his way over after escaping the conversation he’d been dragged into by Lev’s Father.

Lev hesitated. “Fire _place_? But my parents had our fireplace taken out a few months ago…said it was pointless, and the gas fixtures on the floor were messing with their 'open floor plan'.”

He rolled his eyes at this.

Yaku groaned quietly. “Not good…that’s why she’s running around your kitchen and hiding in your oven. She’s probably a bit irritated for you guys demolishing her home, so she’s trying to cause mischief.”

Case in point, Hakaru was reaching for the salad fork, having realized the metal prongs had been knocked from the bowl, and the moment his fingers touched it he let out a sharp shout, recoiling.

“Are you alright?” Ikumi hurried forward, followed by Alisa.

“Fine, fine, just…Nat, did you leave the salad fork on the stovetop for some reason? It’s hot!”

His wife glanced over her shoulder at him.

“No? At least…I don’t think so…maybe I did? Sorry dear!”

And so the incident was brushed aside, however, Ikumi’s attention had now been drawn to the little mischief maker who was now using the butter knife as a diving board and catapulting into the salad over and over again.

Iwa crossed his arms from where he was hovering in the living room, unseen by Alisa who had just ushered Mei in there to continue their previous conversation.

“So what are you gonna do about the little thing?”

Mori hesitated. “We could try to catch it but…”

“Catch what?” Hakaru had gravitated his way over by now, having been making his way through his guests to have small ‘get to know you’ conversations with each.

Shin’s dialogue had lasted about thirty seconds so he’d made his sons boyfriend his next target.

Lev instantly fell into a stuttering panic but Morisuke smoothly replied.

“Just talking about volleyball stuff…I was telling him he needs to try and catch the ball more against his wrists instead of just swinging at it. Try to have some control.”

Hakaru hummed. “Of course, I’ve heard all about your volleyball expertise. As I understand it you’re an impressive…what’s the term…”

“Libero. I’m the teams libero.”

“Which is why he’s so short!” Lev contributed.

This earned him an elbow to the stomach, but Hakaru seemed to think the comment was humorous enough, and cracked a smile at it.

“I’ll admit I was actually wondering about that.”

Yaku sighed. “Most people do when I tell them I play…anyway, your apartment is really cool!”

Lev didn’t miss how quickly Mori was turning the attention away from his physical stature, and felt a bit ashamed.

It’d been made painfully clear in the past that his boyfriend was insecure about his height and his overall appearance, but he’d still pointed it out to a stranger.

A stranger to Mori, obviously, and not to Lev himself, but still.

_ I should probably apologize for that _ later...

The topic of interior design got Hakaru riled up in a hurry, and for the next few minutes Mori was forced to pretend he understood the qualities of different paint finishes, and learn about just how many different names there are for the color white.

There’s a lot more than you’d think when it comes to these types of things.

Kenma, meanwhile, had crept away, having downed the rest of his soda, he eyed the still salad diving fire sprite on the table.

After a few moments he spotted his opportunity.

Turning his back to the others present, he summoned small burst of golden light.

Fascinated, the little sprite turned, her eye caught by the bright color, and made to investigate.

Clearly she had yet to realize the newcomers to the apartment could see her.

Kenma swished the little bits of ice in the glass as he walked over stand next to one of the stools at the counter, the one closest to the breakfast nook, before making his move.

He raised the glass to his lips again, the ice in his mouth sliding into his mouth. Seeing this as her chance, the sprite darted across the table and jumped, trailing a small amount of blue flame, and landed on the seat of the stool. As she raised her little head, wide childlike blue eyes roaming across Kenma curiously, the bottle blonde snapped the glass down and trapped her.

A terrified squeak erupted from her, the only sound that could be made out through the glass, before she began bouncing off the walls of the glass that trapped her, letting out further hisses and squeaks, pounding her little fists at the see through prison.

The second year looked around, heart hammering.

Luckily, the only person in earshot was Mrs. Haiba, who was too wrapped up in admiring Ikumi’s hair to notice the sound of glass colliding with metal behind her.

“Is it nice to have it so short? I’ve thought of cutting mine but I’m too scared I’ll look terrible!”

As Ikumi assured Natalya that she’d look wonderful with short hair, Kenma put a finger to the glass, tracing around the edge of it.

When he lifted it up again, the little girl trapped inside made a break for freedom, only to knock off an invisible top layer to her cage and tumble back into the bottom of the cup.

Kenma made his way silently back over to Mori and Lev, who’d escaped Hakaru’s home improvement obsession by retreating to the living room whilethe man had to talk a call for work in the back hallway.

Morisuke took one look at the cup and made a move towards it.

“Don’t worry, the shell I cast over the top isn’t airtight, she’ll be fine.” The younger necromancer insisted, keeping hold of the cup.

“Wow, you sure work fast, Kenma-san.” Lev complimented, trying to get a closer look at the fire sprite without being too obvious.

She’d given up on escape currently, and had fallen to her knees on the floor of the cup, head turning this way and that in clear distress. Her blue flame dress seemed to have actual weight to it, as it fell into folds across her short, stubby little legs, and went smooth as her fine little hands nervously spread across it.

“We need to get outside so we can talk to her.” Mori whispered.

“She can talk?” Lev asked incredulously.

Yaku shrugged. “Maybe? A lot of sprites and goblins and such pick it up from living with humans. Household folk do it all the time. Didn’t I tell you there used to be a goblin that lived in the room next to mine? Grumpy thing he was, he picked up Japanese just from listening to us from a hole in the kitchen wall.”

Lev gawked. “You _never_ told me that!”

Yaku completely glossed over the rest of that subject.

"But...seeing as she's a fire sprite, her voice is probably too high pitched for us to understand. Well, at the very least she probably understands us. Isn’t there some way you could get us outside?”

Lev hesitated. “Oh! I got it!”

He then turned. “Mom! Did you remember to buy dessert?”

Natalya, busied with a bowl of rice, hummed. “Oh yes yes I…wait…oh I forgot!” She exclaimed in horror.

“It’s fine, we can do without…” Ikumi began, but it was too late.

“Lev, why don’t you run down to the corner store and pick up something? I’d hate not to serve a full meal!”

“You really don’t…” Ikumi continued to try, but Natalya was dead set.

“Sure!” Lev readily agreed.

“We’ll tag along! Be right back!”

Before any protests could be had, Lev, Kenma, and Morisuke escaped out the door.

They walked down the hallway and to the elevator, and while inside, the little fire sprite was starting to tremble.

“She’s scared. Kenma, let her out.” Morisuke insisted.  
“What if she tries to burn my face off?” The bottle blonde asked flatly.

“It’ll be fine.” Morisuke took the cup and snapped his fingers above it.

The top layer trapping the sprite inside shattered.

She seemed skeptical for a moment before reaching up and pulling her upper body over the edge of the cup.

Her hair was slightly damp from the small amount of soda residue that had been at the bottom of the glass.

And yes, it was hair. Sort of. It seemed like she simply was able to light her hair on fire if she so desired, not that it was fire all the time.

“Hi…uh…sorry about all this. I’m guessing your pretty unhappy they destroyed your house, huh?”

The response to this was an obnoxiously loud chittering as the sprite popped up to stand on the edge of the cup, lighting her fist on fire and shaking it at him.

Morisuke recoiled slightly and frowned awkwardly.

“Um…if you want, you can come live at my house. We have three fireplaces.”

“You do?” Lev asked incredulously.

Morisuke rolled his eyes. “Yes. One in the living room, one in the library, one in the dining room. Not to mention the literal inferno going on in our basement. Plus our stove is gas, she’ll probably like that. What do you say?”

The little girl crossed her arms and turned her head away from him, making a scoffing sound.

“Ok…uh…well, we have demons in our basement, and they keep their huge fireplace lit all the time. How does that sound?”

She let out an excited cry at the idea of a fireplace that was always lit, but quickly tried to regain her composure, tapping a foot on the edge of the glass.

“Any luck with the little firecracker?” Kuroo came drifting down through the ceiling just as they emerged from the elevator.

Morisuke hummed. “I think we’ve come to an agreement. What do you say? You stop causing trouble here, and you can come live at my house with all the fireplaces there. I’m pretty sure there are some other sprites who hang around too, and fairies outside. You could make some new friends!”

The fire sprite seemed to relent, and Morisuke offered his pinkie finger for a handshake.

She took it between both her small hands and shook it up and down twice.

Morisuke sighed with relieve.

“Well, that’s finally done with. Here, Tetsu, can you take her back?”

The samurai looked down upon them indignantly.

“What? How could I do that?”

Kenma looked up to him. “She’s a magical creature, so she can touch you. You can let her ride on your shoulder or something.”

The spiky haired ghost groaned.

“Fiiiiine! I’ll be back to witness the impending awkward dinner after I drop her off.”

Her offered a hand down and the girl hopped into his palm, scamping up his shoulder, climbing his bangs, and perching herself in his hair.

“Hey! Get down from there!” Kuroo swatted at her atop his head.

“OW! NO PULLING!”

Lev snickered. “She doesn’t want to fall off.”

Tetsurou scoffed. “Sure, sure, fine. I’ll take the troublemaker back, whatever. You guys better get to your dessert run.”

“Oh yeah! Right, we’d better hurry.” Lev gestured to the other two and they started briskly up the sidewalk.

“So…what exactly are we buying?” Kenma questioned.

Lev trailed off. “Without money.”

“Oh my god, Lev.”

“I wasn’t actually planning on getting dessert!”

“Just go get some money.” Kenma grumbled.

As the towering boy spun to rush back to his apartment, Kenma glanced back to Yaku.

“Y’know, you’re gonna have to make him to-do lists when you send him out.”

The 3rd year seemed confused. “Why would I need to do that? Leave it to his Mother.”

“I meant _after_ you guys get hitched.”

“KENMA!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! That's all for now, I'll try to get back into updating more often, hopefully not with a month between chapters ;-; oooooops. Well, anyway, I did some thinking and I'm pretty sure I know where this thing is headed. Basically YamaKen needs some work, I'm also gonna do some little stuff with Mei and Alisa most likely, and then...yeah...one other thing needs to happen too before it ends :P Welp, that's all! Please drop a comment down below, they help Kuroo get a mischievous fire sprite out of his hair, and leave kudos if you haven't been here before! Thanks again for reading!


	51. Awkward Tales

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup. It's been a hot minute. Ok, I got busy with sports and stuff and also just had the most horrible writers block for how to write this awkward dinner. I really wanted to get a chapter up, and honestly I'm not INCREDIBLY happy with this one, and it's also pretty short, so...yeah. But it's here. So hopefully you'll enjoy it! And I'll be able to head on back to the mystical magical side of this story, at long last! Been a while, huh? :D Well, please enjoy!

 

**_Dinner_ **

 

Mori had been right to think that dinner would be agonizingly uncomfortable.

Yup.

He’d certainly been right thus far.

After the initial sitting down, getting drinks, passing out food, and insisting everything was delicious, conversation had ground to halt, and this was where they’d ended up now.

A decidedly unpleasant silence had fallen over the table, and it was getting worse by the second. At first Ikumi had managed to keep the chatter going by engaging in the time honored tradition of comparing children and said children embarrassing stories with each other, which had kept things going for a little while longer, but eventually that fountain too ran dry. 

So, naturally, being a Mother, Mrs. Haiba decided she’d make it _even_ worse.

“So, where did you two wind up first meeting? After all we’re having this dinner because of you.” She questioned, smiling across the table.

The two boys froze in their seats. They'd been expecting this question to eventually roll around by still neither had any solid way of answering.

“School…” Lev began.

“Volleyball…” Morisuke started.

They both stopped talking, expecting the other to finish, and then started trying to finish their sentences, cutting into each others words once more.

Morisuke waved to the towering middle blocker.

“You go.” He insisted.

“No, no, it’s fine…” Lev began to interject.

Morisuke rolled his eyes. “This is your family. You tell’em whatever. If it gets to mushy I’ll butt in.”

Lev hesitated. “Uh…ok? Well…I joined the volleyball team…and Mori was assigned by the coach to teach me how to receive…and we wound up spending kind of a lot of time together? Like, not by choice though.”

Alisa snickered. “Wow, sounds like a joy.”

Morisuke raised an eyebrow up at the green eyed boy.

“Not by choice? Man, didn’t know you hated it that much.”

Lev made an unseemly squawking sound, which his Mother found rather amusing.

“Dear, I think we get the gist of things. Volleyball. Continue?”

Lev exhaled heavily. “Gladly. Ok. So then we found out we walk the same way home everyday. So we would walk the distance here to the apartments together.”

“And Lev would go on and on about his new kitten, and I told him I had a cat, and we basically would just wind up talking about cats for twenty minutes.” Morisuke added in.

“Oh oh! I almost ran him over with a shopping cart!” Mei exclaimed, bouncing in her seat.

Shin visibly shuddered at that particular memory.

“How did you…” Mr. Haiba began to ask, before the conversation was completely overtaken by Lev again.

“No need! Off track!” He exclaimed.

“Oh, well then what happened next in this beautiful romance, then?” Mei snapped sarcastically, clearly irked her minor part in their budding relationship had been cut short.

“Well, there was this thunder…OW!”

“CAT. I came over here to meet his kitten, and then we talked about family stuff, and then he came and asked me to date him. The end.”

Lev was clutching at his shin under the table while his boyfriend promptly ended the story.

“No! We are not leaving out the one time I managed to look cool!”

“Yeah! You looked awesome, banging your head off the picnic table like a doofus!” Tooru interjected from the living room.

Ah, yes, let us not forget the ghosts were _still_ there, including Kuroo who had returned after dropping the newest member of their household off into a welcoming fireplace.

Lev had to reel himself in from shooting back at the former yakuza member, considering that, despite his company being more seer than non-seer, his family didn’t know anything about the otherworldly side of their guests life.

And now, that side of their own boys life.

Still, Lev wasn’t giving up, despite the fuming look Morisuke was giving him.

“No one cares that you’re scared of thunder, Mori! It’s not that bizarre!”

Alisa cooed. “Oh, so you comforted your upperclassman during a thunderstorm, that’s adorable!”

Morisuke looked like he wanted to disappear under the table, his face turning an alarming shade of red.

_He really does blush super easily._

Lev thought in the back of his mind.

“So, I was at the park and this crazy huge storm blew in all of the sudden, and I turn around and hear someone under one of the picnic tables in the pavilion. I bend over and Mori’s hiding under there! So I sat with him until the storm passed and then walked him home.”

“And _then_ you asked him to date you.” Mei concluded.

“And then I asked him to date me.” Lev confirmed.

Natalya spun her fork on her plate with a smile. “And hopefully we’ll hear that story again at the wedding.”

Mori sank below the table while Lev banged his knee off the underside at how hard he jumped.

“MOM!!!” He howled.

“Kidding! Kidding! Although if you do then I want a picture of tonight, so we can show it there.” Natalya giggled.

“MOM!!! Mori get out from under the table!” Lev turned to the now empty chair next to him in distress.

“No. I hate you. I’m leaving you.” Mori’s monotone voice emerged from under the tablecloth.

“Getting cold feet? I just bought my bridesmaids dress though…” Kenma mumbled.

“KENMA!” Mori popped up suddenly from under the tablecloth.

The bottle blonde merely shrugged and returned his attention to his food.

“Wait, hold one, why am _I_ the bride!?”

“Because you're short?” Lev suggested.

Well.

We were all thinking it.

But he got a well deserved kick to the shins for that one anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not super exciting, but I hope it was able to tickle your funny bone a bit. It was more of a vague recap chapter than anything else. I really do hope to continue towards the nearing conclusion of this story at a faster pace from now on. As far as my plans go I have about three more arcs to cover. One sort of spanning two mini arcs, one exclusively involving Lev and Mori, and then the grand finale! Give or take if I have more ideas I don't have any time for ;-;   
> In the meantime! Please drop a comment down below, they help Kenma with his devious kitten plans for being maid of honor, and please leave kudos if you've never been here before. As always, thanks for reading!


	52. Talk of Spell Stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S BEEN A MINUTE  
> Yeah, sorry, I've tried to work on this every once in a while but I got slammed with writer's block. I finally finished this chapter, it's a little short, but it's just an awkward segway point onto the next little arc of this story that I plan on doing. So, please enjoy~  
> *ALSO, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ THE BOTTOM A/N FOR SOME IMPORTANT STUFF I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT!*

**_The Forest Clearing._ **

 

 

“AGH!” Lev was sent tumbling onto his rear by the powerful jolt of blue magic that he’d just fired out of his rapier.

It struck a nearby tree, leaving a scorch mark in its wake.

“Whoa, are you ok?” Morisuke hurried to his side, offering a hand down.

Lev dropped his weapon to the ground.

“I only hurt my pride.”

“I didn’t think you had much left of that.”

“Mori!” Lev shouted, looking honestly fed up.

Yaku put his hands up. “Ok, sorry, sorry.”

He sat down next to the silver-haired boy on the ground.

“…you wanna talk about it?” He asked after a moment, gazing at his boyfriend worriedly. He’d told his usual ghost posse to get lost for today's session, specifically because he’d had a feeling Lev had something weighing on him.

It appeared he’d been correct.

Lev buried his face in his hands. “I dunno if you’d get it. You’re so good at this.”

“That’s because I’ve been doing it for years, Lev. No one is good at anything when they first start.” Morisuke said in a lecturing tone.

“Still,” Lev muttered flatly.

It had been a little over a week since the dinner party, and now that Lev’s secret was out, (his sexuality and relationship, not his magical abilities) Morisuke had shifted focus to Lev’s next big milestone.

That is, legitimizing himself as a necromancer by casting a spell star.

A spell star is an eternal spell that every necromancer casts into the sky of the Underground. The reason the world there is bathed in light was because of these spells. They endured even past the death of the caster. Webs of family trees would be traced by these spells, along with the relationships that were held during life, and ones true feelings for others.

On the path to earning the right to call himself a full-fledged necromancer, Lev had learned to hunt, more or less, he’d managed to kill some gremlins, a few dark trolls, a rogue bicorn, and had assisted the Yaku Trio in taking down a giant spider, likely cursed by one of the troublesome dark faye, that they’d run into deep in the forest.

 _That_ had been a _particularly_ horrifying experience.

He’d also assisted in the passing of dozens of spirits by now, having become skilled enough to find the clues and help the wandering ghosts by himself.

He’d learned the basics of magic circles, and could cast minor elemental magic from the four points, with, as always, spirit point facing up.

As it stood, he’d arrived at the level of mastery required to cast a spell star, though just barely.

As such, it was turning out to be quite difficult for Lev to successfully control the sheer amount of power necessary to blast his magic into the sky.

Power, in and of itself, the first year had in spades. Having been with his light for most of his life, he’d had all of his latent magical energy simply bottled up inside him. It should have remained there, but what with the magical ring, magical blood moon, and magical boyfriend, that had changed.

It was part of the reason his magic was blue. Pure magic energy was blue, however, when tainted by the problems or blood lineage of the caster, it changed color. Explaining the colors of orange, copper, gold, and, as with the Yaku family, red.

It was the control itself Lev had issues with, a drawback of his lack of experience with magic. The raw power was there, but no matter how hard he seemed to try, it would always just blow up in his face. Normally he’d laugh it off, but with a goal set that would alter his life and give him a new title and possible career choice, he had been losing his sense of humor towards the subject.

Lev lifted his head. “I just feel like I’m being a huge burden.”

Morisuke sighed. “You’re not.” He insisted. They’d been over this point multiple times. If Morisuke hadn’t been willing to go through this process with Lev, he wouldn’t have given him the ring in the first place. Simple as that.

“I know you keep saying that but…but I…I just hate this. I know it takes time, and I know I can’t expect so much so soon, and I know I haven’t even been a seer for a year yet, but…why can’t I get anything right?”

Yaku put his hand on Lev’s, a glimmer to his eye.

“Can you perform the ritual with the spirits?”

Emerald eyes looked over to him.

“Well, yes but I…”

“And the magic circles?”

“They work now, but still I…”

“What about those hunts we went on? Where you cast attack magic without any problems at all?”

Lev seemed at a loss for words.

“I…I did, didn’t I?”

Morisuke nodded. “Certainly did.”

Lev stood up, taking up the handle of his rapier as he went. “Alright. I’ll try again.”

He lifted the tip of the sword, and it began to crackle with blue energy.

It remained contained within the blade, slowly flowing up and down from the hilt all the way to the point.

Morisuke watched on with a growing smile.

“Ok, ok…now concentrate the power to the tip.”

“Um…how?” Lev asked, staring at the sword in his hands.

The blade was beginning to shake.

“Just imagine it all flowing to the top, and condensing into a little ball. You can do it.” Morisuke encouraged.

“Ok…flowing to the top. Flowing to the… _AGH!_ ”

Lev let out a startled shout as the blue magic went rocketing out from the tip of his blade again, it struck a nearby bush this time, vaporizing a small hole through the center.

“Dammit!” Lev shouted, throwing his rapier to the ground.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright! You held the power over the entire sword for way longer than ever before!”

The auburn-haired necromancer who’d been observing all this hurried up, grasping Lev’s hand.

“Yeah but…it’s still not working with me. I’ll tell it to do something, and it just won’t listen.”  
Morisuke hummed. “That’s magic for you. Sometimes, it just does what it wants. It takes a long time to learn how to control it. I practiced casting a spell star for almost four years before I was able to do it. I only cast mine two years ago, you know?”

Lev nodded, sitting down on the shaved log at the edge of the clearing.

“I know that, and I know I’m expecting too much, but I just…I want to prove I was worth all this.”

Morisuke rolled his eyes and sat down next to him.

“Even if you were a total dud with magic, you still would have been worth it, Lev.”

The half Russian raked his fingers through his hair, lifting up his bangs for a moment before letting them drop over his forehead again with a sigh.

“You say that…but it’s more like proving it to myself.”

Morisuke linked their arms and scooted a bit closer to him.

“I understand…you want to prove yourself. That makes sense, and I won’t be sappy about you not needing to do that. It’s something you have to do, and I get it. But I don’t want you to tear yourself up if it takes a while. If you cast a spell star next week, or next year, I’m still going to be here. It won’t change how I feel, and it won’t change how anyone else feels towards you.”

He patted Lev's hand gently.

“So…what do you say? Want to try again?”

Lev exhaled heavily before his eyes filled with determination once more.

“Yeah! One more time!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it! Lev's gonna learn to cast a spell star! You know...sooner or later XD  
> So that important thing I mentioned? I started another story!   
> When I got writer's block for this story I started working on a different idea, and I wound up writing so much of it I decided to post it. It's called 'Crows Rhyme' and it's up on my profile. It's an A/B/O Steampunk/Royalty setting with a dash of The Selection AU type thing in there. It's a TsukkiKuroo story with A!Tsukki and O!Kuroo, which if any of you read my story One Pack, you'll know that I accidentally fell in love with that dynamic. It's also got some DaiSuga, KageHina, AsaNoya, and some of your other favorite ships in there! :D I'm really proud of how it's turning out, and I'm really enjoying writing it, so if any of you could take the time to pop over, give it a read, maybe drop a comment and let me know what you think, I'd really appreciate it! Now that that's out of the way!  
> Please drop a comment down below, they help Lev control his ridiculous amount of magic, and please leave kudos if you've never been here before! Thanks for reading!


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